You Could Be Happy
by PersianFreak
Summary: Eric and Sookie are two youngsters who fell in love, but their relationship had lasting effects far beyond what they expected. Set in Canada, because I can. AH/AU
1. Chapter 1

__Hey! Look! A new story! I actually started this at the beginning of May, and now, 60 pages later, I'm finally posting it. For those of you who were reading _What Sarah Said_, it is now complete over on my wordpress account (the address to which you can find on my profile).  
>Let me know what you think of this, if you haven't already seen it (where else, on wordpress).<br>PS Merry Christmas, and a very happy new year to all of you lovely people who read and Favorite and Alert and occasionally even review =]

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><p><em>Chapter 1<em>

Eric had long since given up on writing the research essay by the time the gorgeous blonde walked into Kopio. So when she curled up in an armchair to sip on her hazelnut latte and read _A Game of Thrones_, Eric resigned himself to subtly watching her. She was mesmerizing in a way he couldn't even describe, stunning even in her winter attire, her long hair framing her face still flushed from the freezing temperatures outside. To his amusement, instead of putting the mug aside once she was done, she got up and ordered her second drink, and then her third. Around the time he figured she would be ready to order the fourth, Eric put his laptop aside and headed to the front to order it for her, asking that it be taken to her with a napkin he'd scrawled his number on. Returning to his seat, Eric watched the surprise on her face and waited patiently as she looked at the napkin and cast her gaze around, settling at last on him. Slowly, she gathered her things and threw them in her purse before heading over to stand over him.

"Hi," Eric offered but she wordlessly held out her hand, nodding towards where his phone was perched on the armrest. He handed it to her tentatively and watched as she pressed some buttons and handed it back, chuckling to herself as she spun on her heel and walked out. She'd programmed her number into his phone; Susannah Stackhouse. He called her the next day.

888

"So what are you in school for?" Eric asked, taking a bite of the huge cupcake and smearing some of the frosting on his nose. They'd already spent nearly three hours sprawled on the floor in the Humour section of the bookstore across the street, flipping through books and laughing their asses off. Now, Sookie laughed and wiped the frosting off with her thumb, an act that was perhaps a bit too intimate but which failed to faze him regardless. The levity of the moment faded, however, as she seemed to remember his question and her smile was replaced by a look of resignation.

"My diploma."

Was that her college alternative to post-secondary education? Eric wondered. She seemed smart enough, and driven enough, to be in university, so that made no sense. "Your diploma?"

"My high school diploma."

Eric froze, feeling like someone had dumped a bucket of water on him and then pushed him outside in the winter. "You're serious."

"As a heart attack," she grimaced. "Sorry."

"But you're not-" he began as another thought occurred to him. "Oh god, how old are you?"

"Eighteen as of October. I should have told you earlier."

"Yeah, probably, huh?" He shook his head, still shocked, and took a deep breath.

"I like you," she offered. "That's why I didn't say anything. I had a lot of fun today and I just didn't want to admit it to myself that it would all come to a screeching halt as soon as you found out."

He considered that. He'd had a lot of fun too; so what if she was in high school? How many high schoolers did he know that would be content with hanging out in a bookstore on a first date? Eric genuinely liked her, she was gorgeous and funny and engaging, and mature far beyond her years from what he had seen. "It's not that bad."

"Yeah, we're both graduating," she snorted.

"No, I mean it. You're an adult so it's not illegal, and you don't _act_ like you're in high school. I don't see why it should get in the way of us dating. I mean, we obviously might decide later on that we're just done, but I don't think age should be a deal breaker here."

Sookie gave him a calculating look before smiling, "Alright."

"Alright," he smiled back. "I like you too. Will you go out with me again?"

"I'd love to."

So they did, a week later, this time opting to go to an amazing sushi place Eric insisted would change Sookie's life.

"Are you going to get me drunk on sake and take advantage of me?" Sookie teased and Eric feigned a deer-in-headlights look, a piece of sushi halfway to his mouth.

"Aren't you too young to drink?" He asked once her laughter had died down and she gave him a deadpan look of disapproval. He'd briefly feared that she wouldn't appreciate his age jokes but she didn't seem at all upset and even played along, which was probably a good thing because he couldn't even help himself.

"Watch it, old man. Don't make me kick your cane out from under you," she calmly retorted and took a sip of water.

"Oof, nice. Solid joke."

"Thank you, thankyouverymuch." Sookie inclined her head. "You know what, you may have been right about this changing my life," she added.

"You're welcome." In response, Sookie smiled and stroked her foot up the inside of Eric's calf. "Oh wow, you are grateful."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she grinned, and Eric realized that in that moment he was happier than he had ever been, happier than she should be making him on a second date. The feeling only strengthened when she slipped her arms around his neck after dinner and let him deepen the kiss outside the restaurant. When it broke, Eric pulled back and felt something in him tighten at the light in her eyes because she truly mattered, in a way he hadn't anticipated. Nor was he sure it was acceptable, considering she was in high school.

"You're stunning," he murmured before he could stop himself and her cheeks darkened.

"Thank you. You're quite foxy yourself."

"You think I'm foxy?" Eric grinned.

"Are you kidding, I gave you my number because there was no way I could have worked up the courage to call _you_." Sookie smiled shyly so he leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead, tugging her knit hat further down over her ears. It was so fucking cold but she was insistent on his not driving her home, or picking her up for that matter, so they'd been forced to say goodbye outside. He figured it was because it was only their second date and he was probably a bit too old to set her parents' minds at ease, so it didn't bother him. Yet.

"So I guess I won't be seeing you for a while, huh?" She asked. He had mentioned finals and the inevitability of the stress that would soon be blanketing his whole life.

At the thought of not seeing Sookie, Eric winced, "Probably not, but maybe we can go for coffee at some point? It'd force me to get out of the library."

"Sounds good to me. Why don't you text me whenever you need a break?"

"I can do that," Eric grinned and bent down to kiss her again. She tasted like the mint she'd had after dinner and he found himself wanting to prolong the moment.

"I had a really good time tonight, Eric."

"I did too. Damn my finals, inconveniencing my dating life."

"Damn your finals, indeed," she giggled. "So I'll see you later?"

"You will," Eric promised and wished her a goodnight before putting her in a cab.

888

No matter how many times Eric went through this ritual – this study nonstop, eat crap food, don't shower thing that happened every term – he never got over the crippling stress of it all. It was so terrifying to him to think about just how everything depended on whether or not he spent a whole day under the fucking artificial lighting of the Health Sciences library, going over formulas and theories and experiments. The difference, this time around, was the constant presence of the knot in the pit of his stomach that marked Sookie's absence. He fucking missed her, despite having seen her not too long ago – fuck, last week, actually. It got to the point where delving headfirst into his textbook no longer managed to keep his mind off of Sookie and, frustrated, Eric decided that maybe it was time for a break. After all, he'd been studying non-stop for five days, and he was starting to get that sluggish feeling he only got when he stopped going for runs and survived on food that wasn't real food, so a break longer than an hour was completely justified, right?

Satisfied with that, he dug his phone of the drawer he'd locked it in.

_If you don't come and put me out of my misery, I just might do it myself._

_At school. Miss me already?_

_Missed you five days ago._

_You saw me five days ago :P_

_Missed you as soon as you were gone. Can I see you?_

Sookie suggested coming over to cook him a real meal, and Eric agreed enthusiastically, checking his fridge to find it dismayingly barren.

_We might have to go grocery shopping._

_Whatever will get you outside, hombre._

Eric laughed at that. That reminded him; a shower was definitely in order. Sookie would be over in a couple of hours, probably looking great and smelling just as amazing as always, and he wanted to not be his greasy finals self. By the time she arrived, he was wearing dark jeans and a green v-neck sweater which, by the look Sookie gave him, he judged he looked great in.

"Hi, Beautiful," he sighed, feeling relief at the mere sight of her and cupping her face for a kiss. She tasted like sweet coffee, and looked even better than he remembered, dressed as she was in a knitted sweater and dark jeans. Her cheeks were flushed and her nose was red from the extreme cold, so he couldn't really be held responsible for giving in to the urge to kiss the latter.

"Hey you. How much fun are you having studying?"

"So much fun," Eric responded dryly, bringing his mouth back to kiss her before realizing that she was carrying bags. "You brought groceries?"

"Yeah, I decided I didn't want to share you after all."

Eric couldn't help the smile that lit up his face. They spent the next several hours cooking and eating, and later snuggling on the couch as Romeo & Juliet played.

"I never really liked Romeo," Sookie mused thoughtfully.

"But, Leonardo DiCaprio!"

She giggled. "Oh no, don't get me wrong, he's a stone-cold fox. I just never liked how flighty Romeo seemed. His love for Juliet wasn't really based on anything and less than an hour before seeing her he was waxing poetic about some other chick. I don't know, I just never liked him."

"Just because he fell for her fast doesn't mean what he felt wasn't real," Eric defended softly, in a way that made Sookie's eyes flick to his with surprise. "On a slightly different note, I always liked Juliet as a petname. Or Jules, maybe."

"Huh, I'd never really thought about that. That would be cute," Sookie grinned up at him, a little surprised at this softer side he was showing. He smiled and bent to bring his mouth to her lips, repositioning on the couch so as to avoid contorting his body. Things inevitably grew heated and soon Sookie had him sitting back, his shirt tossed aside as she pulled his pants open.

"Sookie, I didn't expect anything when I invited you," he murmured between kisses and she smiled.

"Are you saying 'no' to a willingly-given blowjob?"

"Does anybody?" Eric laughed. She was sexy as fuck and he was painfully hard. Even with all his blood rushing to his dick Eric knew without a moment's hesitance that he wanted Sookie's lips on him.

"Are you clean?"

"Yes."

She paused, biting her lip, "Am I the only one?"

"I'm not seeing anybody else."

"Are you going to reciprocate?" She was still smiling, but they both knew she wasn't kidding.

"Of course." He never understood men's aversion to reciprocity. How goddamn lazy – not to mention inconsiderate – would you have to be to not return the favour?

"Then shut up."

With Sookie's gorgeous lips wrapped around his cock Eric let his head fall back, his fists clenching in the material of the couch as she gave him the kind of release he could only hope to match with his hand. He made sure Sookie got hers as well, with his fingers buried in her warmth and his mouth latched on to her breast as she gasped and moaned her way through her orgasm. Afterwards, as they lazily kissed, Eric noticed that it had gotten dark outside.

"Shouldn't you be getting home?"

"Why, do you want me out of here?" Sookie murmured with an adorable smirk.

"Not even a little bit. Won't your parents worry?"

"Nope. Besides, tomorrow is Saturday."

"Then, will you stay over?"

"And just sleep?" She asked pointedly, since she'd made it clear she wasn't ready for sex.

"And cuddle. And other stuff," he added with a little wink that made Sookie blush.

"Okay."

888

"Is it because of the age thing?" Sookie asked two months later, knees drawn up to her chest under the sheets. Eric was sitting across the bed, looking mildly uncomfortable in his underwear despite wanting her, desperately.

"I think so. It doesn't bother me, usually, but it just occurred to me just how long ago I was eighteen and that just freaked me out." He frowns, "sorry."

Sookie considered that. She didn't like that her age was still an issue, but then again it hadn't been that long since they started dating; and it's not like it had been an issue since their first date, nor did he ever treat her like she was a child, so it wasn't that he saw her as being too young. Just too young to fuck. Sookie sighed. "You wouldn't be my first, Eric," she offered and that seemed to interest him.

"How many?"

"Two."

"Tell me about your first."

She smiled, seemingly amused. "My best friend all throughout junior high was this guy that I'd liked for ever, but I never told him because I valued our friendship too much. We ended up going to different high schools and we lost touch, but we ran into each other at a party at the end of grade eleven. Turns out, he'd always liked me too, but didn't tell me for the same reasons. We ended up spending the whole night together and around sunrise, we uh… we did it in his car."

Eric released a choked laugh. "A regular Casanova, huh?"

"Pretty much," Sookie laughed.

"Do you regret it?"

She thought about it for a second, "No. He was someone I trusted for a long time, and spending time with him was amazing. And he was nice enough, and the sex was good enough."

"How magical," Eric smiled, but not in a sarcastic way.

"It could have been a lot worse, from what I hear," Sookie shrugged. "I obviously didn't romanticize the idea of my first time, otherwise I wouldn't have slept with some guy I hadn't seen in two years."

"This is true."

"What about you?"

"How many, or how was my first time?"

"Both."

"Four. I was also in the eleventh grade. It was with uh, my girlfriend of the time."

"Did you love her?"

"No. She didn't love me either though, she just wanted someone to sleep with."

"Oh, and you were the ideal candidate for that?" Sookie teased, a light in her eyes.

"A fine-looking well-endowed gentleman with an engaging personality such as my own? Naturally." She burst out laughing, hysterical and infectious until Eric joined her. When they calmed down Eric was sitting much closer, and Sookie leaned forward to press her lips to his.

"I'm cold, Eric. Help me warm up?"

Chuckling at the line, Eric slipped his tongue into her mouth and guided her to straddle his hips once his boxers were off. "Sookie, you're…"

"Stunning? I know." She chuckled breathlessly when his hands travelled to tweak her nipples. "That feels really good."

"I was going to say breathtaking but that works." With that, Eric brought his mouth into the mix and Sookie gasped at the unexpected pleasure, rocking her hips against his erection. He really was huge, Sookie thought again, wondering how things were going to work logistically. Neither Bill nor Preston had been that big, but neither one had ever turned her on as much as Eric could with just one look so Sookie was optimistic.

"Eric, condom."

"Fuck, okay." In one smooth move Eric rolled her underneath him to reach into the bedside table for a little foil packet that he handed over to Sookie. "Put it on me," he ordered quietly and Sookie felt the heat of it in the pit of her stomach. Ripping open the foil she slid the latex on him, watching his face carefully as she experimentally pumped him.

"Eric?" she whispered, feeling her cheeks burning as he was preparing to push in.

"What is it?"

"I'm just, really nervous," she lowered her voice even more.

"I promise I won't hurt you, Jules."

The petname hit her low in her gut, and instead of contemplating what it meant she made an executive decision. "I trust you." He pressed a kiss to her forehead as he entered her body, and pulled back to watch the look in her eyes when she gasped out loud. Legs locking around his hips, Sookie kept a hand anchored in his hair as he began moving and used the other to traverse his body. Eric's groans in her ear became all she focused on as the pleasure washed over her, over and over again until it became a continuous flood of bliss and she fell apart in his arms. He had his moment right after, calling out and relaxing into her warmth. Sliding down to avoid crushing her chest, Eric rested his head on her sternum and sighed when she threaded her fingers through his sweaty hair.

"How are your nerves now?" he murmured, rubbing a thumb over her nipple and lifting his head to smile at the sound of her laughter.

"That was really good," Sookie observed once the laughter died down. "That was- Can we do that again?"

"We can do that again," he nodded, reaching to bring her hand to his lips. "We're doing that until I run out of condoms. And then we're running out to get more condoms," he added, moving even further down to pull her legs apart, smiling at her shrieks when he tickled her.

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><p>AN: Moved fast, eh? If you likee, the second chapter is already up... on wordpress.


	2. Chapter 2

__Hey y'all! So here is chapter two. I've said this before I'm sure but if you head on over to my wordpress account (the address to which you'll find on my profile) you will not only find the next chapter, but the chapter after as well! Assuming you haven't read 'em already, of course.

Let me know what you think!

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><p>Chapter<em> Two<em>

**Two Months Later…**

The ceremony was exactly as Sookie expected it to be; mind-blowingly dull. At least the venue was interesting, she thought, as she cast another look around the Convocation Hall in the Old Arts Building, with its ornate carvings and honest-to-god pipe organ to the side of the dais. When Eric had shown her around the U of Alberta campus, he'd made a point of spending the majority of their time leading her around the older buildings and pointedly disregarding the architectural monstrosities that were some of the newer buildings. The small courtyard created where the Convocation Hall met the rest of the Old Arts building was his favourite spot in the whole campus, he'd told her, because of the way the sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees above and the way the leaves scattered themselves over the grass in the fall. But here inside the Hall, comfortable as the seats were, Sookie found her mind wandering to the past few months with Eric. He was looking so regal today, in his black apparel and the light green hood that identified him as an Architecture student, and he gave Sookie a wink when she caught his eye.

She was falling in love with him, had started falling from the very first date. It was both terrifying and exhilarating.

"Oh, here we go," Adyson Northman whispered from where she was seated to Sookie's right. Sookie sat up straight, drawn out of her thoughts and into the mildly awkward reality of being seated next to her older boyfriend's mother for the entirety of the ceremony. "Kalle, the camera!" Adyson hissed to her husband.

"I think we've got some time, Addy," Karl Northman murmured back, reaching to take his wife's hand.

"I just don't want to miss it."

"We've got some time until the N's," he chuckled quietly and shot Sookie a smile when she looked over. They were sweet, the Northmans, they really were. They lived in Whitecourt though, which was just far enough for Sookie to have not met them until earlier today, which was a blessing in that it had been put off but a curse in that it made things even more awkward. Sookie had caught Adyson gazing thoughtfully at her several times already, like she wasn't sure why her golden child was dating a high schooler.

Eventually, after what felt like ages, Eric's name was called and he stepped onto the dais, smiling his stunning smile as he was handed the piece of paper he'd worked so hard for, and pausing long enough for his father to take a photo before stepping off. Sookie was tense from that point on, and ran to find Eric as soon as the ceremony was over.

"Congratulations," she squealed, all but assaulting him in the way she jumped and wrapped her legs around his hips. Eric squeezed her back and stole a kiss, letting her down only to tuck her into his side just as his parents finally caught up with them. Already, the Hall was emptying out as the graduates and their parents began heading out to celebrate. Sookie tried to step away to allow Eric's parents to take turns hugging him but he refused to let her hand go, so she lingered nearby.

"So, what do you think, sushi for dinner?" Adyson looked up at her son with open pride in her eyes.

"I'm never going to say no to sushi," Eric grinned.

"Great. Sookie, you'll be joining us, right?" Karl asked, kindly.

"Oh," Sookie looked uncertainly up at her boyfriend. "That's very sweet, but I don't know-"

"Come on, please?" Eric murmured.

"I wouldn't want to intrude on your family time."

"You're not intruding, it's Eric's day and you're his girlfriend. Of course we want you to come," Karl smiled and it was so similar to Eric's that Sookie agreed. The next couple of hours were spent at the infamous sushi place Eric liked, making borderline-awkward conversation as Sookie tried to prove herself to Eric's parents.

"You know, you don't have to do this," Eric whispered when Adyson excused herself to use the bathroom and Karl was off topping up the parking meter.

"I just want them to like me. I'm at a big enough disadvantage without even speaking."

"They don't _care_ that you're younger. Well, they care, but it's not grounds for them to dislike you. They know me better than to think I'd date some shallow bitch. Besides, you've been so polite and lovely the whole day, you don't need to try to get them to like you, they already do."

Sookie sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know that, I do."

"Come on. Have I told you I'm really glad you're here?"

She couldn't help a smile. "No, you haven't."

"I'm _really_ glad you're here." Smiling, Eric captured her lips for a prolonged kiss that only stopped when Adyson returned to the table and they hastily broke apart.

After dinner the Northmans dropped them off where Sookie's car was parked by the university, and Eric drove them to his apartment. There, standing in the middle of Eric's living room with her gaze locked on Eric's, Sookie methodically undressed herself and giggled when Eric hoisted her over his shoulder.

"Where are we going?"

"You are not leaving my bed today, Stackhouse."

"Oh, why didn't you just say so?"

"Happy graduation to me," Eric murmured once she was stretched out on the bed beside him.

"I have a present for you."

"A present?"

"A present I couldn't give you in front of your parents."

"Oh I like the sound of that."

"Happy Graduation Blowjob?

"Will you do that thing-"

"I will do that thing you like, yes." Sookie smiled and moved to kiss him, slipping her tongue into his mouth before pushing him to lie back. Eric made those little groaning sounds that were such huge turn-ons and threaded his fingers through her long wavy hair, gathering it in one hand to continue watching Sookie's mouth work on him.

"Sookie," he breathed. "You are… the best at this. Best I've ha- _oh. _Shit, do that again." Sookie tongued his balls again, feeling the incredible ego boost wash over her. He warned her when he was close, warned her to stop probably, but she continued with renewed enthusiasm and he released thirty seconds later, calling out and instinctively pulling her hair to a point pretty close to pain but letting go as soon as he realized what he was doing.

"Oh my god," he muttered with his head thrown back.

"That is what I like to hear," she giggled and crawled into his lap. "I'm so proud of you, Eric."

He lifted his head up to smile dreamily. "Thank you for skipping school to come to the ceremony."

"Of course I did. I wasn't about to miss your graduation." At that his hands stroked up her thighs and moved back to squeeze her ass, his fingers dipping down to rub her.

"Tell me what you want," he whispered.

888

"Sookie," Eric murmured a while later, rustling the sheets to bring his body closer to her. "When are you going to tell your parents about me?"

"Hmm, never."

He sighed and Sookie could sense his frustration even in the darkness. "Where do they think you are tonight?"

"At Arlene's, studying."

Eric sighed again and rolled away, so she reached out to flick on the bedside lamp. His bed was easily her favourite place in the entire world; it symbolized everything good in her life. She always felt safe in his arms, his heartbeat in her ear, his chest rising and falling under her head. In this room, she felt the inexplicable happiness she'd come to associate with Eric's presence and what he was to her, which was a whole hell of a lot.  
>Now though, the comfort of it was marred by this tension and his unhappiness with her.<p>

"It's not about you," she tried, and he gave her an incredulous look. "I mean, obviously it's about you but the reason why I'm not telling them, it's not because of anything negative associated with you."

"How very comforting."

"Eric, please don't do this. You mean the world to me, my discretion has more to do with how uninvolved they are with my life than it does with me wanting to keep you out of it." He still looked quite unconvinced. "It's them I'm marginalizing, not you."

"And your friends?"

Sookie sighed. "None of them matter."

"You're seriously telling me that there's literally nobody in your life who matters enough for me to meet?"

Sookie pressed her lips into a thin line and offered him an odd look. "You make me happy, Eric, so if you cared for me at all you would drop it. Please, just drop it."

Eric didn't say anything for a long moment, choosing instead to regard Sookie. "You make me happy too."

"So can't we just… be happy? Please?"

He considered that for a moment and held out his arms so that Sookie would lie down in his arms, her head on his chest, his heart beating reassuringly.

888

Thursday nights were the best nights to do homework, productivity-wise. The promise of a relaxing Friday was always such good incentive to get everything done, and this Thursday night was no different. Ripping through her Calculus homework, Sookie moved on to Spanish and managed to finish over half of a project that was due two weeks later. She was on a bit of a roll so when the doorbell rang at nine, instead of going to see who it could have been at that weird hour, she kept working on the English essay due Monday. Expecting that it was probably a neighbour looking for a screwdriver or something, Sookie was surprised when she heard a terribly familiar voice engaged in a conversation with her parents. She contemplated feigning sleep, but her curiosity got the best of her and she began creeping down the stairs just in time to hear something that made her heart skip several beats.

"It's nice to meet you, Eric. Are you a friend of Sookie's?" Michelle asked rather politely. Sookie could imagine the look on her face, a perfect mask of curiosity and graciousness.

"Not quite, I'm her boyfriend. I'm in love with your daughter, Mrs Stackhouse."

Sookie almost fell right down the stairs, torn between horror and sheer anger at Eric for going behind her back like that. Not quite thinking things through anymore, she bound down the stairs into the foyer where her parents were now doing their best not to gape at the tall blonde boy declaring his love for their daughter. Hearing Sookie, her parents turned around to lock their confused gaze on her.

"Sookie, is this true? He's your boyfriend?" Michelle asked and Sookie gritted her teeth.

"Not for long," she hissed at Eric who offered her a smile, calling her bluff. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"_Language_, Sookie!" Corbett chastised.

"My bad. What the _fuck_ are you doing here?" Entirely unfazed, Eric just shrugged.

"Young man, I think it's time for you to leave," Corbett told him in a tone that left little room for argument.

Eric seemed hesitant, but nodded and leaned forward to stoke the fire further by giving Sookie's forehead a kiss. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, don't count on it," she snapped, eliciting a smile from him as he wished everybody goodnight and headed out, leaving Sookie in the most uncomfortable silence of her eighteen years. Seeing that nobody appeared ready to speak, Sookie said, "Alright, well this has been fun. I'm going to go back-"

"Not so fast. How old is he?"

Sookie sighed. "He's twenty-two."

"He looks much older." Corbett's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

So twenty-two was not an issue? "His birth certificate disagrees with you."

"Watch your tone, Sookie." Michelle tried to placate, "You have to admit, he looks older than that. And we're bound to be suspicious when we've just found out that you have kept your much older boyfriend a secret from us."

"He's not _much _older. You know what, this is why I kept it a secret!" She gestured at where Corbett had a major case of bitchface going. "You're on high alert like I'm dating Charles Manson."

"We don't know anything about him, we're allowed to want to know more."

"Fine! You want to know more? His name is Eric Northman. He's twenty-two. He drives an old Malibu, and he graduated from Architecture at the U of A. I told him I wasn't planning on telling my parents about him and we got into a fight over it, so he showed up here to undermine me." And he loves me, she added to herself. He had never said that before, and Sookie was almost sad that he blurted it out to her parents of all people. It almost softened her, under the thick layer of anger, irritation, and disbelief.

"How long have you been together?" asked Corbett.

"A couple of months." Read, six.

"Have you ever had him here when we're out?"

"Oh god." Sookie could feel a migraine coming on.

"Answer the question," her father pressed, looking completely displeased.

"No, he would choke on the toxic environment."

"Don't be a smartass, Susannah, I am not in the mood for it," he snapped and his wife eyed him, looking more than a bit concerned.

"Yeah, well, I'm not in the mood for this. So excuse me while I go do the homework that'll get me the scholarship that'll get me out of here." And with that, she spun on her heel and stomped up the stairs, disregarding their protests. If they cared enough, they could follow her, and neither of them seemed to because Sookie made it to her room by herself. There, she located her phone and sent off a text to Eric telling him that he was a conniving son of a bitch. He called, not a minute later.

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay. Thanks to your fucking little stunt, I have a migraine and I'm beyond pissed off."

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not. You got what you wanted, and then you pranced out while I had to take the heat."

"I didn't know it would be that bad, okay Sookie?"

"But I did, and I told you. I have to live with these people, you think you know them better than me?"

"I said I'm sorry, Sookie. I don't know what else you want me to do."

"Oh I don't know, maybe I want some acceptance from you that my life isn't as fucking rosy as yours is," she hissed.

"Alright, you know what, I'm done with this conversation."

"How incredibly convenient for you that you get to just walk away yet again, Mr Northman," she snapped and hung up, tossing the phone onto the bed just in time for the door to open.

"You're not allowed to date that boy," Corbett announced as soon as he walked in.

"Yes, sir." Sookie suppressed the urge to roll her eyes because there was actually nothing they could do to physically keep her from dating him, nor did they have any leverage over her. She had a full ride to University of British Columbia and her Granpa's inheritance was released the moment Sookie turned eighteen, so she had almost a hundred grand in a bank account. If they threatened to kick her out, she would easily be able to find a place to live until she had to move to Vancouver in the fall.

"Are you listening to me?" His voice rose in decibels and aggravation.

"It'd be hard not to since you're yelling at me."

"Susannah, you better watch yourself."

"Yes sir," she repeated and glared until Corbett stormed out.

The next morning Sookie decided to leave the house early to get breakfast from Starbucks in an attempt at avoiding the bitching that nevertheless followed her outside. She noticed Eric standing there, perched on the hood of his car but chose to ignore him in favour of unlocking her car door.

"Good morning," he called out and she shot him a dirty look. "I brought you breakfast," he added, getting in the way of the car door closing.

"If I say I don't want it, will you shove it down my throat?"

"Hey, give me a break here, okay? I'm trying."

"I have to go to school."

"Let's go somewhere."

"I understand that it's difficult for you to hear me, but I still have school."

"You have a 98% average, you can afford to miss a day." He actually kneeled down so he didn't have to bend down awkwardly to maintain eye contact. "Sookie, at least look at me, will ya?" Sookie tapped the steering wheel but eventually turned to meet his gaze. "I have bagels and coffee in my car."

"Double-double?"

"Yup," he smiled.

"And the bagel?"

"Wheat & honey bagel with strawberry cream cheese." Damn him. A smiling Eric led her to his car, going so far as to open the door, a gesture she refused to even acknowledge because she was still mad at him. She didn't even wait for him before fishing out the bagel with the right label and unwrapping it to take a bite. Eric seemed to consider digging in like she was but instead drove a couple of blocks to a park, just to be safe. They shared breakfast in silence and afterwards Sookie watched as he gathered up the garbage and tossed it over his shoulder.

"I am sorry, you know."

"They bitched me out and then told me I couldn't see you anymore," she told him quietly. "Now every time I leave the house they're going to threaten me about seeing you. You've just made my already difficult life even more unbearable."

"I just wanted your parents to know."

"I know you did. You told me like, fifteen different times and every single time I told you why I didn't want to tell them. What did you think was going to happen, that they were going to flip a switch and like you? Like _me_?"

"I don't know what I thought."

"What, _now_ you're being all repentant? What happened, Mr I'm Gonna Go Behind Your Back And Tell Your Parents?"

"Let's just say I've been properly chastised. I didn't know it was going to turn out that way and I'm sorry it did. It was just getting to me that I can't stop telling people about you but you've kept it from your friends and family. It's frustrating and hurtful, and it fucking bothers me."

"You already know what my parents are like. And as for my friends, I didn't tell them because it's none of their goddamned business. Just because their dating lives revolve around who is most popular and who is the best lay, doesn't mean that mine does. Mine happens to focus on what makes me happy. And Amelia, my supposed best friend is opinionated and entitled, and if I tell her about you she'll make it all about herself, how I'm not spending as much time with her, how I can't be dating someone if she's single. She's not… just because she's my closest friend doesn't mean I share much of my life with her. You're important to me, you make me happy, Eric. _I'm_ happy, and I don't want to take the chance and have her track mud all over my happiness. Because it's so fucking rare, and I'm not brave enough to take that chance. Maybe if you meant less to me I would tell the people who are at best marginally involved in my life that we're dating. But you happen to mean more than that."

"Because you love me."

The corner of her mouth quirked upwards. "Yes. I love you, but you couldn't say it to me. You had to make an announcement to the people who are the most disconnected from my life."

"I thought you were going to yell at me. In that company, you had bigger targets to direct your anger at."

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you thought then, Mr Northman." she told him quite casually and he blinked a couple of times before smiling.

"Want to go to my apartment and spend the day in bed?"

"I'm having my period."

His face fell. "Really?"

"I would not joke about my period." Eric's face rearranged into an odd expression, as if something had just clicked into place. "Are you thinking that me yelling at you is making sense now?" He looked like he was considering lying but ended up nodding 'yes', earning himself a swift punch.

"Ow!"

"That's what you get for dismissing my completely justified reaction because you think I was hormonal."

He opened his mouth, probably to make a snarky remark, but shut it without a sound. Sookie started feeling like she had missed something at the warm look in his eyes. "What? What's going on?"

"I got a job offer."

"What, where?"

"Vancouver."

"Oh." Where Sookie had a full ride to UBC. Where they could stay together. All this time Sookie thought they had an expiry date for the end of August, and here was the possibility for them to stay together. "I didn't even know you were applying for jobs out of province."

Shrugging, Eric glanced out the window. "Well, a paid internship, actually, at DeCastro Designs. It was a bit of a long shot."

"Was there an interview?"

"Over Skype," he nodded.

"You didn't mention anything." Sooke couldn't help feeling a bit betrayed that he was looking for jobs in Vancouver without telling her.

"I didn't know how you were going to react to me applying for it, and I didn't want you to think I was dead-set on it. It was just something I thought was worth a try, since I wasn't sure how you would feel about me moving to Vancouver."

"So what are you planning on doing now?"

"I want it. It's a great opportunity; I'm going to be a paid intern at one of the biggest firms on the west coast. I'm going to get an apartment and since after trying it, I've decided I hate living alone, I'm going to get a roommate. I want it to be you because I want us to stay together, but those two things aren't mutually inclusive. All I'm saying is that I'm pretty sure there are apartments halfway between my work and UBC, but regardless of whether or not you want to live with me, I want to be with you."

"You done?"

Eric grinned. "Yeah. I just didn't want there to be any ambiguity so I thought I'd tell you exactly what I want. So you can decide what you want."

Sookie took a moment to think about it, sinking down in her seat and crossing her legs. "I don't think you're going to need to look for a roommate."

"You sure?"

"I am if you are."

He nodded, still smiling. "I am." Sookie bit her lip, her grin widening until she hid her face in her hands. "What, what is it?"

"You want us to move in together."

"I do." So fast that Eric wasn't sure what had just happened, Sookie got out of the car and ran to the driver side to pull Eric out too. "What are you doing?"

"This." Sookie backed for a running start and jumped into his arms, her legs hitched on his hips as her mouth found his.

"You realize how thoroughly judged we are going to be for this, right?" She asked a while later as relaxed by the little man-made pond in the park, Eric's head in Sookie's lap as she played with his hair.

"Since when do you care what other people think?"

"I don't. But you're twenty-two and I'm eighteen. You realize that, right? I'm so much younger than you."

"What!" Sookie laughed at his mock-indignation and pushed him back down. "I get it. If I thought you were a kid, if you _acted_ like a kid, I wouldn't do this. I wouldn't want you if you were an immature little bitch, but you're not. You're my girl."

That all sounded quite serious so she didn't feel it forward to ask, "Where do you see this heading?" Eric moved onto his back to regard her, reaching out to touch her face lightly.

"Honestly, I don't know. I know that at some point in the future, I want a family. I don't know how far away that is, but right now I would like it to be with you because you're the person I love." Hesitating, he added, "Do you want any of the same things?"

"If I ever have kids or get married, it would be with you," Sookie responded after a long moment of consideration and Eric seemed to do his best to suppress a smile. "I don't tell my family and friends about you because you're a different part of my life. You're the _best_ part of my life." She twisted sections of his hair and smoothed them out instead of meeting his gaze, and he moved so she could lay herself down beside him, resting her head on his chest.

"That's all you had to say," Eric murmured. "I'm not your enemy, Sookie. You can talk to me about things that are bothering you. Keeping me to yourself I can get past, but thinking you're ashamed of me is a whole different ballgame and that's why I did what I did."

"Which was still really high-handed of you."

"It was. And I apologize. How bad was it?"

"Bad enough that I ran out before I could have breakfast this morning," she sighed. "I don't want to go back."

"So, come stay with me."

"Because that'll go over well," she snorted. "I could ask my Gran. She knows what they're like."

"I'd love to meet your Gran."

"That's nice."

"Oh, you're not going to let me meet your Gran, are you."

Lifting her head Sookie shot him a grin. "I was just kidding, you can if you want to."

"Well, let's go now."

Sookie shook her head and tightened her hold around his ribs. "In a bit. Let's just stay here for a while." To her pleasure Eric pressed a kiss to the top of her head and said no more, choosing instead to rub a hand up and down her back, playfully teasing her bra strap. A while later, once Sookie was content, she directed him to her Gran's house, an old bungalow in Sherwood Park.

"Are you nervous?" she asked as they walked up to the front door, holding hands.

"A little bit. Is she going to… I mean, is she cool?"

"Duuuuuuude," Sookie laughed, mocking his word choice, and they came to a stop by the door. "She's not going to flip shit that you're four years older. Unlike my parents, she trusts me. Just be yourself," she added, straightening his shirt and brushing nonexistent dust off of his shoulders. "Your handsome, charming, perfect self."

"I love you. I really do."

"I know. You know I do too." Reaching up on her toes Sookie wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him, long and lingering. That, was of course the moment the front door swung open to reveal Gran.

"Sweetheart, why are you kissing a boy on my porch instead of at school?"  
>The two jumped apart and Sookie wiped guiltily at her mouth, offering her grandmother a shy smile. "Hi Gran." The older woman held out her arms for a hug and Sookie hurried forward. "I've missed you, Gran," she whispered into her grandmother's silver hair.<p>

"Aw, I've missed you too! Are you going to introduce me to your man?"

Sookie moved back to stand beside Eric and grab his hand. "This is Eric, Eric Northman. He's my boyfriend. Eric, this is my Gran, Adele Stackhouse."

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Ms Stackhouse." Eric offered his hand but Gran chose to stare him down until he dropped his hand, shooting a puzzled look at Sookie.

"Are you going to hurt my girl, young man?"

Giving Sookie another look, this time laced with fear, Eric shook his head but managed to respond with plenty of confidence. "No ma'am. I love her, that's the last thing I want to do." Sookie smiled and gave his hand a squeeze, and looked up to see Gran watching her carefully.

"Good. Now, would you like to come in?" And just like that, a switch was flipped and Adele Stackhouse became her usual gracious self. Sookie led Eric into the kitchen where Adele was busy making lunch already. "You two hungry?"

Eric was, Sookie knew without even having to confirm it, so she indicated for him to sit before jumping in with lunch preparations.

"So, Eric, how did you meet my Sookie here?" Gran asked as she mashed potatoes. Sookie insisted on taking over for her and Gran sighed, moving away to see to the meatloaf.

"In a, um, coffee shop. Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to help?" Sookie could see his question warming Gran up to him and she hid a smile. "What happened?" Gran asked once she promised him that there was nothing.

"I was working on an essay and Sookie was there reading a book, and she was keeping up this continuous stream of caffeine intake so I bought her a latte and had it sent over with my number."

"He thought he was being so smooth." Sookie laughed. "And then he found out that I'm in high school." Eric looked alarmed that she brought up the age thing so casually and without any preamble, but Sookie knew Gran would see past it.

"And you are in university?"

"I graduated this year," Eric nodded.

"So that makes you four years older than Sookie."

"Yes."

"Corbett and Michelle must be delighted." Gran rolled her eyes and began plating the food while Eric raised a brow at the way Adele referred to her son and daughter-in-law. "Unless you haven't told them yet."

"Oh no, Romeo here told them last night, without consulting me first, I might add." Sookie glared at him, setting up the cutlery on the table and retrieving lemonade from the fridge.

"And how did that end?"

"In a migraine, for me. My dad kicked him out and then told me we can't date."

"How very predictable," she sighed, and with that, lunch was served and they dug in.

"Gran, I can't live with them anymore," Sookie admitted as they cleaned up after the delicious meal. Eric insisted on washing the dishes and Sookie was drying, so Gran was left to sit down, disgruntled as she was.

"My door is always open, why don't you stay here?"

"I don't know what my excuse would be."

"Your diploma exams are coming up, why don't you tell them you need somewhere you can study," Eric suggested.

"How is here better than there?" Sookie quirked a brow.

"You live off of Whyte. It's always noisy, and Jason's always stomping around. There's four of you there and there would be two here. Math alone supports your argument."

Gran who had been silently watching until now jumped in, "If this is what you want, sweetheart, you know I'll take your side. Corbett still can't stand up to me."

"You know I would pay rent, Gran, and I'll help out with whatever you need and groceries and-"

"Stop!" She held up her hand. "You don't owe me anything. You are my granddaughter and you don't deserve how they treat you. You're a good girl, Sookie, and they are your parents but it doesn't make them right. If you need to stay with me for a few months, I am more than willing to help you."

"Are you sure?" Sookie squeaked out, fighting tears.

"Of course, honey."

"Thank you," she mumbled and hurried to gather her Gran in her arms. Things went back to normal for the next little while as they finished cleaning up and moved to the living room where Eric excused himself to use the bathroom.

"He makes you happy, doesn't he?" Gran asked with a knowing smile.

"I love him. He got an offer for a paid internship in Vancouver and he wants us to live together, Gran. I know you probably don't approve-"

"Honey, you've always been mature for your age, who am I to disapprove of how you live your life? He seems like a good man, and I've never seen you this way about anyone."

"He's no coward, I'll give him that," Sookie chuckled. "I'm not very easy to be with, but he's not about to run away."

"Who's not about to run away?" Eric asked as he walked in to take a seat beside Sookie.

"My other gentleman caller," she responded smoothly. "He's persistent, that guy."

"He'd have to be," Eric nodded, deadpan.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

"Is that the last box?" Sookie asked.

"Your shoe pod thing is still in there," Eric shook his head and proceeded past her into Gran's house and down into the basement where Sookie's new room was. She followed him a minute later, dragging her shoe collection behind her and letting it fall once she was inside the room, earning herself a look from Eric for treating her shoes so badly.

"I'm exhausted."

"You guys hungry?" Gran called from the main floor.

"Yes ma'am, we'll be right up," Sookie called back but collapsed gracelessly onto the bed, facedown on the pillows.

"Sure looks like you'll be right up," Eric laughed and laid himself down beside her to rest a hand on the small of her back.

"I'm _exhausted_," she repeated.

"Me too."

"Thank you for helping." Rolling onto her side Sookie pressed her body against his.

"You're welcome," he murmured with his lips brushing Sookie's forehead, so she reached up to kiss him, her arm slipping around his waist to secure his body. "You never told me how your parents reacted."

"My dad said 'no' at first and then stormed off, but I talked to him and then Gran came over and talked to him and he gave in. He knew I had a good point, he just couldn't bring himself to do something for me without being an absolute douche about it."

"What are you going to do once your finals are done?"

"I don't know." Sookie hesitated, "When do you have to start work?"

The light in Eric's eyes dimmed, ever so slightly. "Mid-July. But I should probably leave earlier to find a place, and you can join me in August? What do you think?"

"I think I don't want to spend two months apart," she admitted, averting her gaze.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying maybe we can go look for places together after my finals."

"And once we've got a place, we can come back and pack up?"

"Yeah. I mean, if that works for you. I mean, if you still want that." In response, Eric moved to pin her hands to the mattress and capture her lips. Out of habit Sookie's legs wrapped around his waist and she deepened the kiss just as Gran yelled for them again and they hastily broke apart despite Eric having already gotten to second base. Sookie shook her head as she fixed her bra and shirt.

"You don't waste any time, do you?"

"I'm nothing if not an opportunist," he responded without a hint of remorse and guided her with a hand on her lower back.

"Sorry Gran," Sookie apologized with a sheepish grin in response to the older woman's knowing look. They had sandwiches and potato salad for lunch, and afterwards while Gran headed to her room to rest Eric managed to convince Sookie to christen her new bed.

"We have to be quiet though," she whispered as he shut the door and began undressing her.

"You're the loud one," he defended, unbuttoning her jeans and dropping to his knees to peel them off.

"I think I recall you making some noise too," Sookie complained, stepping out of her jeans. "I like it when you make noise," she admitted with a little wink and grinned at the wanting sound Eric made.

888

June was awful, just awful. Sookie attended all the diploma prep courses she could and spent as much time as possible in the library, submerged in her notes and textbooks. Eric gave her as much space as she wanted, like he'd promised initially, so as to avoid suffocating her when she was busy and stressed. That was all very sweet but not seeing him for more than a few days at a time was painful, in the least pathetic definition of the word.

_Love me_, she texted him, the night before her Social Studies final, her head swimming with economic theory.

_Needing some attention? _Eric sent back.

_Yeah =( I know it's last minute, but do you want to sleep over?_

_Is your Gran going to be okay with that?_

_You're athletic, right?_

_I'm not going to sneak out in the morning, Stackhouse. Who do you take me for?_

Sookie giggled and sent back an appropriately witty response, and not long after crept upstairs to let Eric in.

"Hi, baby," she sighed, stepping into his arms and letting him hold her.

"Hi, baby," he chuckled. "Your Gran asleep already?"

"Yeah, she goes to bed pretty early, and I've been studying all day." Taking his hand, Sookie began leading him downstairs. "All week, really." She sank down on the bed and leaned her head on his shoulder when he took the spot beside her.

"How did your test on Monday go? It was Math, right?"

It made her smile that he remembered. "Yeah. It was really good, I feel great about it. I think Social will be good too, I just need a break."

"What time is it at?"

"Two. So we can sleep in all we want. Gran won't care that you're sleeping over."

"Good," Eric grinned pointedly and moved in for a kiss. "Do you want to?"

"I don't know. I guess it depends." Her arms slipped around his neck and he reached to tug her shirt off.

"Depends on what, exactly?"

"On how good you are."

"I don't know why you can't just say 'yes' like a regular person," Eric grumbled and undressed her the rest of the way before joining her.

"Get the lights?"

"No."

"Eric."

"Let me see you," he pouted, pressing a very convincing kiss into her skin, but Sookie felt her skin crawl. They'd only ever had sex in the dark, with the curtains drawn at least. This was, different. She wasn't sure what he would think of her in the light. "I love you," he murmured, biting lightly on the shell of her ear, "every part of you. I love how your body feels, and how it makes me feel. Just, let me see you, Sookie."

She shivered, at his words, and turned her head to capture his lips. "Okay."

"Thank you," he whispered and busied himself elsewhere.

A few hours later, Sookie fitted her body around Eric's much larger one and giggled softly into his shoulder blades. "What?" he mumbled, already half-asleep.

"It's just so silly for you to be big spoon."

"I just like that you're okay with it," Eric yawned and wriggled his ass into her pelvis.

"I am, sometimes. I'm too needy to always be big spoon, but I like holding you like this."

Eric hummed, stroked a thumb over Sookie's hand, and fell silent. Content, Sookie too closed her eyes and let herself drift off.

The next morning, Sookie and Eric shared a shower before he snuck out of one of the basement windows, complaining only a little bit before he hoisted himself out. With him gone, Sookie headed upstairs where Gran was busy fixing breakfast in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Gran," she beamed.

"Good morning." Gran hesitated and quirked a brow. "Will Eric be joining us for breakfast?"

Shit. "Pardon?"

Realization dawned on the older woman's face. "Sookie Stackhouse, did you kick that poor boy out before he had breakfast?"

"I didn't know-" Sookie mumbled, feeling herself blush.

"Go call him and tell him he's staying for breakfast."

"Gran-"

"_Go_!"

"Okay, okay," she muttered as she darted outside, just in time to witness Eric's car pulling away from the curb. She waved, feeling more than a bit silly to be trying to flag down a car, but at least it worked.

"My Gran wants you to stay for breakfast," she told him once he'd pulled over, and Eric shot her a look that was part bemusement and part horror.

"She knew?"

"I guess." Sookie shrugged. "She didn't seem mad until she realized I kicked you out on an empty stomach."

"Good to know at least one Stackhouse cares about me," he teased once he was parked and they began heading back to the house.

"I care about you!" she pouted, but lightened up when Eric pulled her into his side.

"I love you," he whispered.

"Love you too," she grumbled back.

"Is this going to be awkward?"

"I guess we'll see."

Thankfully, it wasn't. Gran acted like everything was normal as she served up breakfast, and afterwards Eric helped clean up before bowing out. It wasn't until a few nights later that Sookie noticed the basement window had been welded shut.

888

Sookie's graduation was June 30th. She had to be at the school at 8 AM for 9 AM ceremony, in order to have time to put on her gown and get in line, in alphabetical order. Conveniently, and not at all deliberately, sh forgot to tell her parents about the two-ticket limit and so they missed out, since Gran snatched up both tickets and forced the second one on Eric, who seemed a little guilty that he was blocking out her parents. Sookie has to promise him that she would much rather have him there than her parents, and Gran had to give him a very stern look before he finally relented. On the day of the ceremony, he was there, in his nicest jeans and a navy v-neck sweatshirt that brought out his eyes and looked incredibly sexy on him. But what continued to endear him to her was the fact that he sat next to Gran and charmed the hell out of her for the entirety of the ceremony. And when Sookie got up on the stage, he actually joined the line of overbearing fathers and moved towards the front to take several photos. After the ceremony, the parents swooped in and took everybody out for lunch, Eric included, which was awkward and awful and made Sookie want to gouge her own eyes out with a fork. The only thing that made the whole process bearable was the thumb Eric kept stroking over her knee in an attempt at calming her, which actually just turned her on.

"You have got to stop," Sookie whispered in his ear at one point, and when he looked vaguely hurt, she let a hand drift to the crotch of his pants. "That's what you're making me want to do."

"Later?" He whispered back.

"God, please, yes."

"Practicing already?" Eric smirked and Sookie pinched his inner thigh, making him jerk and knock the table.

"Sorry, cramp," Eric smiled apologetically at Sookie's family and the meal went on. Later that evening was the grad banquet, which was just an evening version of lunch plus dancing and Sookie in a dress that made Eric's jaw drop. It was actually incredibly flattering to witness Eric's reaction, though probably not as flattering as her reaction to his tuxedo.

"I'm getting laid tonight, right?" Sookie whispered in his ear during a slow dance.

"Oh yes, the graduate gets whatever they want. You taught me that," he smirked.

"Well, I thought it was only fair."

"So, what do you want?"

Sookie pretended to give that some thought, and stretched up on her toes to whisper in his ear, "I want to blow off the after-grad and go to your apartment, and then I want to spend the rest of the night with either your tongue or your dick between my legs." When she pulled away, she could swear Eric's eyes were glowing, and there was definitely something pressed against her abdomen.

"You know what, I think I can manage that."

888

_An Apartment Hunt, An Inter-Provincial Move, and Four Months Later…_

"What do you mean you're being transferred?" Sookie sat bewildered on the couch in the small apartment she shared with Eric, the one she'd learned to call home, and attempted to absorb the information she was being provided with. It was so far beyond anything she'd expected to be told tonight of all nights, dressed as she was in her Cindrella costume, ready to head to the Halloween party she'd been invited to by the girl in her Education Psychology class. Eric had been so odd all evening, almost disengaged, that she'd just snapped until he'd relented and told her what had happened at work today.

"Here, I'm an intern. In Toronto I can be a Junior Architect."

"How can they just decide that? Why can't you be a Junior Architect here?"

"Because they don't need me here. They've seen my work, as much as they can when I'm an intern, and they think I have potential. They want to give me a better chance to show them what I'm capable of."

"But not in Vancouver."

"No," Eric dropped his gaze. "Not in Vancouver."

Sookie looked at him, at the excitement he was trying so hard to conceal because he knew what it would mean for them, and she realized something. "You want this."

"Toronto is the headquarters. It's a great opportunity," he murmured, and Sookie nodded vehemently – perhaps a little too enthusiastically – and cleared her throat.

"Right, yeah, of course. Uhm," she held up a finger as her eyes filled with tears. "I just need to, um, excuse me for a second." With her gaze trained on the floor Sookie stood to walk away, to take a moment and steel her resolve and give him what he so clearly wanted, because she could never stand in the way of his success. If he had expressed that he didn't want this, didn't want to move because he was happy here or because Toronto could never be his home, then Sookie would have no qualms against asking him to stay. But he was right, this was a great opportunity and Eric didn't carry enough weight to be able to negotiate remaining here in Vancouver. He was good at what he did and had loads of potential but he wasn't irreplaceable yet – hard to replace, maybe, but not irreplaceable. He needed many more years' experience under his belt before he could pick what he wanted to do instead of go along with what his employers required of him.

"Sookie," Eric grabbed her bicep. "This job isn't everything," he brought a hand to her face, his thumb brushing over her cheekbones, "I'll stay if you ask me to."

"I'd never ask you that, look at you, you look so happy." The tears were falling in earnest now and Sookie hated herself for letting him witness them, for imparting this bit of guilt.

"_You _make me happy. There will be other jobs." Bringing her closer, Eric slipped an arm around her waist so Sookie squeezed her eyes shut and rested her head on his chest, praying that she wouldn't get any makeup on his shirt.

"Yeah, but this is such a huge opportunity for you." Sookie shook her head in continued rejection of the mere idea of holding Eric back. "When would they want you there?"

"Mid-November."

Fuck. She held back a sob and pulled back to bury her face in her hands, refusing to look at him until she was calm. "I can't do long distance," she whispered, a faint quiver in her voice as she looked up to meet his gaze.

"I know," Eric sighed, sinking down onto the couch and burying his own face in his hands.

She looked at him, feeling her heart break. "It doesn't mean I don't love you."

"I know."

"I just can't-"

"I know," Eric interrupted and looked up to offer her a faint smile. "I would quit in a heartbeat if you asked me."

"I know." It was her turn to say it and she smiled as she did, taking a seat beside him.

"You could move with me," Eric suggested, though quietly as if knowing that it wasn't feasible.

"You know I can't." She had a full ride to UBC, and Vancouver was the ideal distance from her parents, whom she wanted to avoid, and her Gran, whom she loved. It was a good compromise, and she wasn't willing to follow her boyfriend across the country.

He nodded. "I figured it was a long shot."

"Hey, it'll be okay," she reached for his hand, trying for some optimism which went right out the window when he gave her a look of disbelief. "You're right, it'll suck."

"So, we have an expiry date," Eric mused. "And you need a new roommate."

"I should make sure whoever it is will be good in the sack," Sookie joked and promptly burst out crying. Eric reached for her and she went willingly, burying her face in his neck and tangling her fingers through his hair.

"Baby, don't. Don't cry, it'll be okay."

"Don't fucking tell me it'll be okay, Eric."

"It will have to be."

"I love you more than anything," she whispered into his skin. "I'm so proud of you, and I'm so happy for you."

"Fuck Sook, you sound like you're saying goodbye already."

She shook her head, "I just want you to be happy."

"Oh god, I can't do this, I can't break up with you and move to Toronto, what am I thinking?"

"Yes you can. Look at me," she commanded, waiting until his panicked gaze met hers. "You're young, you're brilliant, and you're going to be wildly successful. And maybe one day we'll be in the same city again and we'll both be single, and we can meet up for some fantastic sex."

"And until then?" Eric quirked a brow.

Sookie sighed, her optimism draining away. "We'll be okay."

888

Eric moved at the end of the first week of November, his whole life packed into some suitcases and the rest of it freighted to the tiny apartment he'd managed to snag with the help of an old friend who'd been willing to help. Sookie clung to him at the airport, shedding silent tears as she grieved for all the potential they had and all the memories they were supposed to have been making together. They decided that they were broken up the moment Eric walked through security so they did their best to prolong the moment, kissing over and over again to try and immortalize the feel of the other. Afterwards, as Eric rested his forehead against the airplane window, he tried to imagine Sookie walking away and going back to their apartment, and he prayed she would be okay.

They kept in touch as the weeks wore on, initially as means of keeping an eye on each other to make sure they were both doing well or pretending to, but eventually they stopped. It was too hard, Sookie told him, hearing his voice and seeing him on Skype and feeling the same way she always had, but knowing that everything had changed. Maybe it was what they needed, she'd mused, to move on and not define each day by whether or not they'd talked. _I love you_, she said, _but I want you to do well there. You won't if you're always thinking about what I'm doing._

So that was that. They stopped talking, stopped emailing and texting and Skyping and spending every moment of every day wondering what the other was doing. Eric went to work, tried his damned hardest, and did well. Since the lease on his apartment had been monthly, eventually he moved into a better place and even started dating, half-hearted as his attempts were. It didn't help that he had to avoid blondes and that brunettes had never really been his type, but he tried his best anyways, because it felt like the only thing he had left. Not having Sookie, not being hers, was somehow the most painful loss he had experienced so far, and he was afraid of what would happen if he let himself linger on it.

Eventually, he managed to move on.

* * *

><p>AN: Assuming you haven't read 'em already, chapters 4-6 are already up on my Wordpress account (the address to which you can find on my profile). Let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

__A/N: Hey kids! The next several chapters are up on my Wordpress, the address to which is on my profile. Lemme know if you like this =]

_Chapter Four_

"Sookie?" Eric couldn't believe his eyes. For a moment before the woman turned around he had a moment of panic that it wasn't her, followed quickly by panic that it _was_ her.

"Eric?"

Shit. "Hi. Wow." He blinked in awe and realized he must look like an idiot. "It's really you." Yup, definitely an idiot.

"You look good." As the surprise wore off, Sookie's face lit up and she confidently strode over to pull him into her arms where he went, a bit awkwardly. Over her head he caught sight of something that delivered a second blow to his shocked system; a child, concealed until now behind Sookie, sitting up in the cart.

"Mom?"

Holy fuck. Sookie had a kid.

"Oh sorry, baby," Sookie pulled back and smiled at her little boy, walking over to lift him out of the cart. "Chase, this is Eric, an old friend of mine. Eric, meet my son."

"Hi Chase." Eric arranged his expression into one of pleasant surprise and crouched down to hold out his hand, smiling a genuine smile when Chase reached out to give his hand a firm shake. Firm for a child, anyways. "You must be, what, twenty? Twenty-one?"

Giggling, Chase shook his head, revealing dimples that along with his jet black curly hair set Eric's mind at ease. No way in hell was he his. "I'm five!"

"Oh, no way! Are you sure?" Chase nodded and Sookie smiled at their exchange.

"Baby, why don't you go pick out cereal for you and Dad while I talk to Eric for a little bit." And there was the third shock. Eric watched as Chase ran down the aisle, coming to a halt in front of the massive display of cereals a dozen feet away. "Watch him spend ten minutes deciding and ending up with Corn Pops anyway," Sookie shook her head.

"You have a son."

"Yeah."

"And a husband?" Eric's eyes flicked to her ring finger to find a prominent ring tan.

"Yes." Her eyes softened and she brought up her hand as if just remembering the lack of a ring on her finger. "I'm getting it cleaned," she explained and Eric felt the tiny glimmer of hope die out. It was shocking to think that the girl he'd once imagined spending the rest of his life with was standing there in front of him, committed to somebody else for the rest of her life. The pang of jealousy Eric felt surprised even him, as did the part of him that believed it should have been his ring on her finger. He tried not taking it personally, the fact that she'd told him he was the only one she could ever imagine marrying and having a child with, yet here she was with proof of having done both with somebody else. He didn't realize he could envy somebody he'd never met.

Leaving her all those years ago remained to this day one of his biggest regrets. Not that he would ever admit it to anybody.

"Sookie, I am _so _happy for you." He was pleased at the sincerity in his voice, and even more pleased at the smile it elicited.

"Thank you. But how are you doing?"

"I'm doing well. I'm just in town for a week, for work."

"That's great. Um," she shot a look towards a very unstable-looking Chase as he carried two boxes of cereal, one of which was sure enough Corn Pops. "You should come over sometime, if you have the time. Catch up." She smiled, hopefully, and Eric fought the urge to decline, maybe claim that he was going to be far too busy to hang out.

"I'd love that," he said instead.

888

"So, wait, who's this chick again?" Tray asked.

"You were not even listening to me, were you?" Eric flopped unceremoniously onto his hotel room bed and flicked on the TV.

"You sound like Maria." Eric knew Maria, if she'd ever said that, then she was probably completely justified.

"Well, do you listen to her?"

"Sometimes. Not when she's bitching."

"Are you saying I was bitching?"

"Are you sure you're not my wife? You sound just like her."

"Yeah, thanks for nothing, jackass."

"Just answer the fucking question, will you?"

"Are you going to listen?" Eric groused.

"Yeah, _sweetheart_."

"I dated her my last year of university. We broke up when I moved to Toronto."

"And now she has a kid."

"And a husband." Eric shook his head and changed to channel to a _Criminal Minds_ marathon. He still couldn't believe that Sookie was married; she wasn't even twenty-five yet, while he, at twenty-eight, hadn't even been in a single long-term relationship in the past six years. "We dated for, like, a year."

"Yeah, and how long ago was that? Why do you even care?"

"I don't know, it just shocked me, I guess. Her kid is five, Tray. If I didn't know better, I'd think he's mine. She probably got pregnant right after I left."

"Are you sure he's not yours?" Tray asked with a hint of smugness in his voice.

"Jackass," Eric repeated. "He has black hair. No way he's mine."

"I always thought you bleached your hair."

"I'm finding myself forgetting why I'm friends with you."

"I'm just joking. Jesus, you're so sensitive tonight."

"You're not exactly grasping the seriousness of the issue at hand, asshole."

Tray sighed, loud enough that it sounded like a tornado through the phone. "You need to stop confusing terms of endearment with curse words. And I still don't get your issue. The kids is obviously not yours. If you think she cheated on you and got pregnant when you were together, then that's one thing-"

"There's no way she did," Eric interrupted.

"Alright, then you left her and she slept around for a bit and got pregnant. _Six years ago_. And then you didn't see her, _for six years_. Northman, I've heard you're good, but I don't think you're good enough to last her for six years. She moved on, get over it."

Eric sighed and absentmindedly changed the channel again. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I think I always thought that I'd have her back at some point, which was pretty naïve of me."

"Good boy. Come to terms with it. So, are you going to go to her place for dinner?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Alright. So go do that, get over yourself, and get your ass back here so you can take me out for my birthday and get me drunk."

"I thought Maria was taking you out."

"She's taking me out for a romantic dinner the night before. You're taking me out for a completely romance-free celebration the night after."

"But, baby! I was hoping we could make out!" Eric whined in a faux-feminine voice.

"Yeah, you're a basketful of laughs. I'm hanging up now. Just, don't fall in love with the girl, okay?"

"Why, you jealous?"

"Yeah. You know me. Goodbye now."

"Bye."

888

Eric squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for death.  
>He still couldn't believe that he was really here, rental car parked in front of the Herveauxs' white-picket-fence, red-bike-on-the-lawn, van-in-the-driveway home. He still couldn't believe that Sookie had actually talked him into this, by which he meant that Sookie had asked him if he wanted to have dinner at their place and he had agreed instead of declining and risking that disappointed tone in her voice. Even on the phone, upsetting her made a knot appear in his stomach so he'd picked bearing the full weight of the potential awkwardness of the situation over it. A quick glance at his watch confirmed that it was almost five so Eric locked the car and began trekking the cobblestone path to the colonial-style house. He could hear Chase exclaiming that he was going to get the door and it brought a smile to his face, especially when he heard Sookie's lighthearted voice calling after her son. There was a lot of laughter, and a shriek, before the door swung open to reveal Chase struggling from where he was hoisted over Sookie's shoulder and Sookie herself flushed but grinning.<p>

"Hi you. Sorry about this, he needed to be dealt with."

"Hey. No worries," Eric couldn't help smiling back. "Hi Chase."

"Hi Eric!" he called and squirmed until his mom set him down. "I raced mom to the door, but she cheated."

"I did not!" Sookie exclaimed, waving Eric in and shutting the door behind him.

"Did too," Chase grumbled as he disappeared in the direction of the living room.

"Little brat," Sookie muttered. "Come on in."

"These are for you," Eric held out the two bottles of wine. "I didn't know what you were cooking, so I just got red and white."

"That's so sweet, thank you! Come on, we had a last-minute milk emergency so Alcide ran out to get some, but he should be back soon."

Right, Alcide. The missing piece in the complete picture of Sookie's life, he reminded himself, because he didn't belong in her life. He had, at one point, but not anymore.

"Would you like some wine?" She asked once they were in the kitchen.

"I'd love some, thanks."

She smiled and poured him one, offering Eric a seat at the island before returning to the various pots and pans on the stove. While Sookie tinkered around, Eric took in his surroundings. Everything in the kitchen was stainless steel and expensive, and evidence of the family in residence was present in spades. There were framed photos in aesthetically-pleasing locations and a calendar covered in Sookie's neat writing pinned to the wall. The fridge was covered with Chase's drawings and little notes and reminders, and Eric felt oddly robbed of this future he was supposed to have shared with Sookie. Having checked everything to her satisfaction, Sookie sat down beside Eric. "So, tell me. How's life?"

"You have a son," he blurted out. That had been the most prominent thought on his mind. His Sookie had a son; he stopped that thought instantly. _His_ Sookie? Who the fuck decided she was hers? Eric shook that off.

"Who, the kid in the next room who calls me 'mom'? Who told?" Sookie snorted.

"What- I mean, when did that happen? He's five?"

"I was lonely after you left," she justified softly. "I met Alcide, and he was… I don't know, quite the opposite of you. I got pregnant and decided there was no way I was going to terminate, no matter how pissed my parents were."

"You were only nineteen!"

"So?" she shrugged. "I had my inheritance, and Alc's family is filthy rich. He decided he was going to be supportive, and we decided to give our relationship a try, in spite of it all. I'm not saying it was easy, but I studied and worked my ass off while I was pregnant so I could save every penny and not work once the baby was born. We managed, even though it took a little chunk out of my inheritance and Alcide had to dig into his trust fund in the beginning. Alc's mom babysat for us all the time until I graduated, but we're good now. Everything worked out."

"When did you guys get married?"

"A few months after Chase was born." Here, she smiled a little bit.

"And you love him?"

"None of your goddamn business, Mr Northman," Sookie laughed and took another sip of her wine, which felt strangely like avoidance. Eric reached for his own glass. "But yeah, I do."

"Good," he said even though it caused him a little twinge of pain. "I'm glad you're happy."

"Well, thank you." Sookie smiled. "What about you? How are you doing?"

"I'm well. Still working at DeCastro Designs, but I got promoted a little while ago."

"That's wonderful, Eric," she beamed. "I always knew you were meant for greatness. And what about a girlfriend?"

Eric shrugged. She sounded like his mother. "Nobody serious."

"You mean you've just been sleeping around."

"Hey now. I'm not a slut."

"Who said I was calling you a slut?"

"It was implied. I just haven't met anybody with potential," he shrugged again. He went on plenty of dates, but most of them ended in sex and that wasn't really the way to go in terms of a lasting relationship. Inevitably during the date, Eric would give up on the woman's personality and see if she was giving him any sex-potential signals. If she was, he'd go with it and spend the night at her place. If not, he was polite and gentlemanly, but left no doubt as to whether he was going to call them again. It was fine; he wasn't particularly in need of a relationship, but the sex he wasn't about to turn down.

"Of course," she smiled, a tad too much indulgence in her tone, just as Eric heard the front door opening.

"Dad!" came Chase's voice. "Where'd you go?"

"I just had to run to the store for a couple of things, buddy. Where's your mom?"

"In here," Sookie called out and Alcide appeared in the kitchen, a moment later. He was a tall guy, broad-shouldered and muscular, with dark curly hair and sparkling green eyes.

Eric hated him instantly.

"You must be Eric. My wife has told me a lot about you," he smiled charmingly and set the bag down to offer Eric his hand, "Nice to meet ya". Eric took it, casually pushing away his overwhelming dislike of the guy in favour of not being a complete asshole, in his own home.

"Good things, I hope. Nice to meet you too, thanks for having me."

"So formal," Sookie muttered, eliciting another grin from Alcide who moved to kiss Sookie. "Hi, honey."

"Hi there."

Eric fought the urge to puke, all over their fancy kitchen. Fuck, this was going to be a long night.

888

"So, Eric," Alcide began, washing down chicken with some wine. "Are you liking Toronto?"

"Where's Toronto?" Chase interjected.

"On the other side of Canada," said Sookie. "Sweetie, eat your asparagus please."

Chase regarded the vegetable in question with clear disgust, poking it disdainfully with a fork. "I don't like it. Can I have more broccoli instead?" Sookie and Alcide exchanged a meaningful look before Sookie indicated 'yes' and reached to add some to her son's plate. The vegetable situation resolved, Alcide returned his attention to Eric.

"I am," Eric nodded. "I don't know if there's any other place like it."

"Do you see yourself moving back to the west coast?"

"I don't know, I don't really see anything inspiring me to move. But who knows, maybe one day in the future. I'd be open to it." He was already so fucking tired of these inane questions, asked with feigned interest by the guy who was now married to the girl he'd once loved. Eric decided to at least steer the conversation himself, and turned to Sookie, "This is delicious, by the way."

"Thank you," Sookie smiled sweetly. "I tried to remember what you liked, but I couldn't so I went with the most neutral thing I could think of."

"Well, this is my favourite, so you have my vote," Alcide tossed in his two cents, just in case anybody forgot he was in the room. Sookie beamed at him, over their son's head, and the conversation continued. A few hours later Eric excused himself and bowed out, after a round of goodbyes. Chase was already long asleep, so that left Alcide and Sookie, whom he wished he could at least hug without making things awkward. Regardless, with the promise of keeping in touch Eric left and drove back to the hotel where he headed straight for the shower, feeling a tension he failed to identify. Sookie loved Alcide, he had seen that, and the two of them were the proud parents of an amazing little boy. And Eric was alone, and keenly aware of it, and lonely. He was lonely, no matter how nonchalant he had been earlier about his dating history, and it was hard being around the woman who remained one of the highlights of his life, even if he no longer felt for her the way he used to.

Three days later he was back in Toronto. Nothing had changed, and somehow that was the worst of it all.

888

She cried out, in a mix of surprise and pleasure, when Eric rolled himself on top and hitched her knees further up for maximum penetration.

"Feel good?" Full sentences were not happening.

"Feels amazing. Harder?"

"Yeah. Fuck." He could feel his orgasm approaching, so he dropped his hand to her clit to bring her closer. She whimpered, screamed, and came hard, clenching around his cock until he finished too, pulling out to rest his body along hers. "You're amazing," Eric murmured, pressing a kiss into her damp cheek.

"You're not so bad yourself," Pam smiled, her eyes still closed even as she tilted her chin up in a silent request for a kiss. "I want more already," she whispered, catching her lip between her teeth.

"Give me ten minutes to recover, hmm?" Eric whispered back, this time pressing his lips to her forehead.

"I guess I can give you that," she giggled and draped a leg across Eric's hips as he drifted off. He woke in time to catch her tip-toeing back into bed and offered her a smile as he pulled her on top, to start all over again. A few hours later, once Pam was at last fully sated and they were both showered, Eric led her to the kitchen in order to throw together some breakfast. Or rather, lunch.

"What do you want?"

"Hmm. I don't know, what do ya got?"

Eric hummed and peered into the fridge. "The breakfast route or the lunch route? 'Cause I've got bacon and eggs, or I've got chicken breasts and rice?" He looked up to meet Pam's eyes. "Or we can order in?"

"How about chicken? And maybe a salad?" Pam suggested and Eric felt himself deflate, ever so slightly. He liked his girls with a bit of meat on them, usually, though Pam was all lean muscle, skin, and bones, and it really didn't matter all that much in hindsight. But he also liked a girl who could eat, and Pam wasn't one. Regardless, Eric figured a salad wouldn't hurt him, and whatever damage was caused would surely be reversed with a burger later.

"Okay, I get the chicken, you get the salad?" Maybe he could get away with using some oil, this time.

"Perfect." Pam smiled brightly and hopped off a chair to brush past Eric, grabbing his ass in the process.

"Tease."

"But you know I'm going to own up to it later. How does that make me a tease?" She grinned and unbuttoned the dress shirt she'd thrown on after their shower, just enough to reveal more of her lovely porcelain skin.

"How much later is later?" Eric's eyes lingered before drifting down to her bare legs. He was pretty sure she wasn't wearing anything underneath it.

"Later enough that we've reduced the chances of you breaking me," she giggled and gracefully bent down to get salad ingredients out of the fridge, though her words made Eric's ears perk up.

"Did I hurt you?"

Pam registered the concern in his tone and shook her head, her eyes wide. "Sweetie, no. I was just joking."

"You sure?"

"Yes! Positive."

"You had me worried there," Eric exhaled in relief. "You'd tell me if I did, right?"

"Of course! Come here," She pouted and moved to kiss him, using her hands on his forearms as leverage.

"Sorry for panicking," he smiled down at her. She really was beautiful, he thought. Eric loved the flecks of gold in her eyes and the paradox of the sharp lines of her face, despite her tendency to soften them with a permanent smile. Physically, everything about her was delicate and gentle, grace imbued in her every move thanks to her years of ballet training. But she was also passionate and stubborn, and extremely sexual, and incredibly engaging.

He could feel himself falling for her, falling in tiny increments, farther and farther as each day wore on.

"It's okay. I think I can forgive you, considering the context."

They broke apart to prepare lunch and settled on the couch once everything was ready, as Eric tried to discern whether Pam could tell he'd used butter instead of vegetable oil. She seemed to be unaware, as she brought up a topic that quite effectively drew his attention away as well.

"So, I told my parents about you."

"Oh?" Interesting. Eric realized he hadn't really met the parents, since introducing himself to Sookie's parents several years ago, which was probably quite sad at twenty-eight. "When did you guys talk?"

"Yesterday. It's my dad's birthday tomorrow so I had to call to confirm plans. Which reminds me, I can't do dinner tomorrow."

He shrugged. "Parents over boyfriend. Sounds fair. What did they say?"

"Well, they want to meet you, actually."

"Ooh."

"Yup. I've been instructed to find a night that works for you in the near future. I was thinking Friday?"

"That should work," Eric replied, with a smile, and received one in response.

"Okay, yay."

"Are you nervous about introducing me?" he asked, sliding his empty plate onto the coffee table and leaning back to pull Pam into his hold.

"Only the requisite amount. I think it'll be easy for them to see what I see in you," she added with an adorable smirk.

"Good answer. I haven't really told my parents about you," Eric confessed and watched for her reaction.

She didn't seem offended, merely curious, when she asked, "How come?"

"It's been a while since I've had someone to tell them about," he shrugged. "I think my mom may have given up on asking me everytime I call them."

"I guess you don't see them often, huh?"

"Not really. Christmas, Thanksgiving, sometimes my birthday. The usual." They called every week though, which was nice, and Eric made a mental note to bring up the Pam topic on Sunday, during their next call.

"That makes sense. Were you planning on going home for Christmas this year?"

"Yeah," Eric responded with a fair bit of hesitance. Was he supposed to ask Pam to accompany him? Were they at that level yet? They'd been fine for Thanksgiving, but that had been pretty early on in their relationship. This was still a month away, but if she wanted to accompany him, wasn't it too late to book a ticket? Eric had purchased his ticket in September, but now he felt the tension of uncertainty settle in the pit of his stomach.

"Eric, relax."

"What?"

"I'd like to meet your parents, at some point, but the timing is awkward with Christmas. I'm spending it here with my family anyways."

Oh. Well, that was a relief. "What if I miss you though?" he flirted instead, and Pam laughed.

"I'm sure we'll survive." She entwined her fingers with his. "Though I'd like you to tell your parents about me, if you feel comfortable about it."

"I do, really. And I will, I just haven't been sure if I could."

"You can do whatever you want," she laughed and rested her head against his neck.

Later that night he pulled her into his arms, feeling her lean muscular body, and pressed a kiss into her shoulder. "I'm glad I found you, Eric."

"Did you lose me?" He joked.

"No, ya jerk." Pam giggled and rolled over so their noses were touching. "I mean it. You're pretty amazing."

"The feeling is mutual." And it was. When Mrs Bellefleur in 11B had insisted on setting him up with her granddaughter, he'd only agreed to shut her up. As lovely a woman as Mrs Bellefleur was, Eric had relatively low expectations of the then-faceless Pamela Ravenscroft. It had taken Pam all of five minutes to shatter all of Eric's preconceived notions, however, and now, two months later, he was quite grateful for Mrs Bellefleur's meddling.

"You're really fucking beautiful," he murmured absentmindedly, not realizing that he'd said it out loud until Pam responded.

"Well, thank you, Mr Northman. That's high praise coming from a handsome man such as yourself."

"You think I'm handsome?" Eric grinned.

"I think I've given your ego bigger strokes than this."

Eric flashed back to her screaming his name, on several occasions. "Perhaps. I'm still going to take what I can get."

"Hmm. I don't think you have to do that," she giggled and pressed her body to his. "Wanna…?"

"I love that you're insatiable." Eric pressed a kiss to her lips and deepened it, letting his fingers drift down to the smooth flesh between her legs.

"Only with you," she murmured and immediately moaned, her whole body surrendering to his attentions.


	5. Chapter 5

__A/N: Hey lookit! It's chapter five. If you're new here, then allow me to invite you over to my Wordpress site, where I regularly update this story. You'll find the site address on my profile. Later, gators!

_Chapter Five_

"Stop moving!"

"I'm getting restless here!"

"Well, work through it. I'm almost finished."

"That's what she said?"

"You're not funny, stop that."

"Fine then," Pam pouted and pursed her lips despite not moving from the pose she'd been in when she looked over to find Eric sketching her. "Can I at least put the newspaper down?"

"Yes."

"Thank you." She sighed and closed her eyes. Truth was, she was getting a bit sore from having her legs curled underneath her for so long, but it was oddly sweet to be Eric's impromptu model. And he hadn't even said anything to her, just quietly retrieved his sketchbook and reclaimed his seat in the armchair across from Pam's seat before she'd even noticed. She supposed the lighting was pretty inspiring where she was sitting, bathed as she was in the sunlight that was streaming in through the living room window, and she was showing a lot of skin, so maybe that was it. Not that any of it was anything Eric hadn't seen before. He'd seen all of her, after all. Finding herself with very little to do, Pam decided to admire the man himself. He was too busy drawing to really notice, so Pam was free to admire the strong line of his jaw, his slightly imperfect nose, the full curve of his lips. She decided she liked the way the sunlight made his blonde eyelashes even paler, and his blue eyes even brighter. To call Eric Northman an insanely good-looking man would be a rather accurate description, not that Pam would simply describe him by his looks. She'd gotten over her need to only date attractive men in college, when she'd been hurt by three consecutive beautiful men through some odd twist of fate. So she'd grown out of that shallow phase, but it hadn't made Eric any less striking when her grandmother had set the two of them up for a dinner date in late September.

The problem–the only one that Pam could discern in their relationship–was that Pam had the tendency to fall too fast. And Eric Northman made it plenty easy for her to fall, with his beautiful smile and kindness and the ability to make her feel so incredibly safe with a single gesture. But that wasn't the problematic part; the problematic part was that he was holding back, ever so slightly. Like when he'd had a mini panic attack right in front of her eyes when she'd brought up meeting his parents, or when she would unthinkingly make a remark about wanting to do something in the future–see a movie that was set to come out in a few months, for example–and he'd give a vague response before changing the subject. The worst part was that Pam didn't even think he did it consciously, and there wasn't a single thing she could do about it.

"Hey, where'd you go?" Eric's voice snapped her out of her reverie and she looked up to give him a forced smile.

"I'm here. Just zoned out, I guess."

Eric didn't look like he quite believed her, but nodded anyways. "I'm done."

"Oh, great." Carefully stretching her legs out in front of her, Pam stood to get the blood flowing again, and moved over to squeeze in next to Eric on the armchair. "I want to see." Eric pulled her into his lap held up the sketchbook for her to examine, and Pam felt herself get choked up as she admired his handiwork.

"What?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice. "Do you hate it?"

"No!" Pam shook her head vehemently. "No, it's just… Is that really how you see me?"

Cautiously, Eric took another look at his own drawing, as if to confirm that it was how he perceived it, and nodded.

"It's beautiful. I mean, I look beautiful." Pam looked back to really examine Eric's expression. She was surprised, at his perception of her; she was absolutely stunning in Eric's drawing. Pam knew she was pretty, had received enough male attention in her life to believe it, but she didn't think she was exceptionally so. The Pam on the page though, she was gorgeous.

"You _are_ beautiful, Pam," Eric admitted, with a hint of what Pam could only describe as shyness. She felt herself light up, and leaned to put the sketchbook on the coffee table before moving to kiss him, soft and lingering.

888

Eric stood in front of the mirror and brushed imaginary dirt off his shoulders before running an anxious hand through his hair.

"How do I look?"

"Handsome, and deserving of their daughter." Pam wrapped her arms around Eric's waist and pressed a kiss to his shoulder blade.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous."

"You shouldn't be. I'll admit, it's flattering that you care enough to be nervous, but you shouldn't be."

Eric smiled and pulled her into his arms. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you. Now come on, I'll drive so you can have some wine with dinner to relax." Eric nodded gratefully and followed her out the door.

It was a short drive over to Rosedale, where Eric was finally introduced to the very charming Ravenscrofts. Within minutes, Mr Ravenscroft and Eric figured out they were both U of A alumni and it was only uphill from there. By the end of the night, Mr Ravenscroft was insisting Eric call him Ryan, and Mrs Ravenscroft was promising to teach him how to make her famous corn chowder. Eric was in a great mood as they headed out, and as he drove he hummed quietly to himself while Pam looked out the window.

"They liked me, right?"

"You know they did," Pam laughed and yawned, leaning against the window as her eyes drifted shut. It was another few minutes before she spoke again, murmuring, "They might love you more than I do." Eric blinked and barely kept from slamming on the brakes. She loved him? They'd been together for two months, and she loved him? She was definitely asleep now though, was even snoring softly, her breath fanning out into fog on the cold glass.

"Pammy?" Eric called softly, and earned himself a little moan, but that was it. Yup, definitely asleep.

Fuck.

At Pam's apartment, Eric parked on the side of the street and all but carried her up the stairs, where she finally awakened long enough to open the door and take off her clothes before crawling into bed.

"Are you staying over?" She murmured sweetly.

"Not tonight. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Good night, baby."

"Good night, Pammy," Eric whispered back and pressed a kiss to her forehead before letting himself out of the apartment.

888

"Wow," Tray shook his head in awe. "Wow. Really?"

"What did you say?" Maria asked and took a sip of her wine. Eric had met up with them for their weekly Saturday lunch and had spilled the Pam beans, occupied as he was with thoughts of it.

"Nothing, I didn't have to say anything." Eric shook his head. "She was half-asleep when she said it, and then I just drove her home."

"Are you going to dump her ass?"

"Tray!" Maria glared at him. "Eric, don't you dare be such a huge coward."

"We've been together for like, two months, Maria," Eric defended.

"So? She's not allowed to love you? Are you that huge of an asshole that it's impossible for someone to fall in love with you?"

"Okay, ouch, I didn't say that."

"You're just freaked out that she said it? It's not like she made a huge deal out of it. It's not like she was expecting anything. It just slipped out, you said it yourself, she was half-asleep."

Eric sighed. "I guess."

"Do you not love her?" Maria asked, while Tray wisely stayed quiet. He knew better than to argue with his wife when she was on a roll.

"I don't know. It's too soon, but she's incredible. She makes me happy."

"I just like that you were being mature and meeting the parents until she said the L word and you reverted to your sad, scared teenage self," Tray interjected with a little smirk.

"Oh, shut up," Maria rolled her eyes, good-naturedly. "When I told you I loved you, you said 'thank you'."

"Hey, that was supposed to be our marital secret," Tray complained into his wine, just as their food arrived.

"So, what am I supposed to do?" Eric asked, between mouthfuls of seafood. "Am I supposed to bring it up?"

Maria shrugged. "It might be kind of insensitive to call her out on it if you're not going to say it back."

"So, what, I just go on, knowing that she loves me?"

"If you just need some time to mean it, then yeah," she nodded. "If there's no chance, then it's better that you just cut her loose now."

Eric moved some shrimp around on his plate. Before she'd mumbled it out in the car, he'd been thinking he was falling for her anyways. What the hell was he doing, thinking about breaking up with her, when she was probably the brightest point of his past several years. "I just need some time. She's-"

"Getting you laid?" Tray finished for him with a cheeky grin.

"That means he'll be best friends with her and her husband in a few years," Maria cracked and pressed a kiss into Tray's cheek when he groaned.

"Kidding, babe."

888

On the 23rd of December, Eric drove himself to the airport and spent the entirety of the flight to Edmonton asleep. It always felt like such a gift to be able to sleep on the plane, especially considering how often he flew to the west coast and how long these flights were. His plane landed in Edmonton just after four, by which point the sky was already darkening, and Eric sighed as the captain announced the local temperature to be negative-35 degrees Celsius.

Home, sweet home, indeed.

Eric's father was to pick him up from the airport for the two-and-a-half-hour drive to their home in Whitecourt, northwest of Edmonton. He was already waiting by the time Eric emerged with his bags and he pulled his only son into a hug, a wide smile on his face.

"Merry Christmas, Dad."

"Merry Christmas to you too. How was the flight?"

"Fine. I slept the whole time."

"You look groggy," Karl Northman nodded in agreement.

Eric grinned and hoisted his bag into the back of his dad's old Toyota. "How's mom?"

"Excited to see you. She's been talking my ear off, wondering what your new girl's like. I hope you have a photo or something to make her happy," he added with a sidelong glance once they were settled in the car.

"Yeah, I have some," Eric chuckled.

"And when are we going to meet this girl?"

"Pam, dad. Her name's Pam."

"Right, when are we going to meet Pam?"

"I honestly don't know." Eric slid down in his seat and watched nighttime Edmonton pass by. "My birthday, maybe?"

"You're going to celebrate your birthday in the small city?" The elder Northman quirked a brow.

"I've celebrated my birthday in Whitecourt!"

"Not since you were seventeen," Karl snorted.

"What did I do when I was eighteen?" Eric frowned.

"Begged us to let you party in Edmonton, go to a real bar I think is what you said."

"Wow, I was kind of a shit, huh?"

"You were a teenager," Karl shrugged. "So what's Pam like?"

Eric had to do a double-take to make sure he was serious. "I thought mom would have relayed everything I told her."

"Sure, I know her name's Pam, she's a dance instructor, she's blonde." Karl rolled his eyes in a move Eric identified as one he'd adopted for his own.

"I don't know what else to tell you," Eric laughed. "She's… beautiful. Laughs at everything. She wants to meet you guys, but the geography thing isn't really working in our favour."

"You meet her parents already?"

"Yeah. They're great, really sweet."

"So I can tell mom that our grandchildren will have two sets of involved grandparents?"

Eric couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. "Yeah, yes you can, dad. That'd be not inappropriate at all, after three months of us dating." Seemingly satisfied, Karl moved on to other topics as they continued their drive, making a secret pit stop at McDonald's because Eric was starving. They made it home a little before seven where Adyson spent a couple of hours fussing over his eating and sleeping habits before letting him call it a night. The next day was spent helping out with Christmas dinner as the rest of the Northman family trickled in slowly, livening up the place as the day wore on. Eric looked around the living room for a mental headcount at one point and found everybody he'd been expecting: his uncle Martin, Martin's second wife Lucy, their kids – who were both a little older than Eric – Naomi and Dylan, Dylan's fiancée Ashley, and on the Northman side of the family, uncle Chris and his wife Luna, and their teenage children April and Monika. Eric felt himself light up when he looked up to see Naomi approaching him, with a smile on her own face. They'd been incredibly close as children and still kept in touch, even though she lived in Calgary, working as a music teacher.

"Hey, cousin."

"Hey, cousin," Eric grinned back and hugged her. "Long time no see."

"You're telling me, mister architectural prodigy," she teased.

"Been taking my mother seriously, have you?"

"Well, I'm inclined to believe her since I don't hear anything from you!"

"Ooh, point-taken." Eric grimaced. "Sorry."

"I was just kidding." Naomi winked and turned at the sound of her name being called.

"Go on, we'll catch up later," Eric inclined his head and she headed off into the kitchen. In the living room Eric found his father, his two uncles, and Dylan, each with a beer in hand, talking.

"Eric, come help me make the old people understand what Facebook truly is," Dylan called as soon as he caught sight of his cousin and Eric smiled, sinking down into the seat beside him.

"Are we young enough to call them 'old people'?" Eric asked, thanking his dad when he was handed a beer.

"Touche," Chris raised a brow and clinked his bottle against Eric's. The next while was spent watching as the men in Eric's family argued and bantered, until Adyson called for her husband to come carve the turkey and everyone began heading into the dining room. Dinner was fantastic, and Eric helped himself to a second helping of everything as did many of the others. It wasn't until later when everyone was busy doing very little beyond digesting that Eric got the chance to speak to Naomi again, when she plopped down next to him on the floor.

"I'm going to be full until I'm thirty," she groaned.

"You _are_ thirty," Eric frowned and earned himself a swift punch to the bicep. "Ow, the fuck?"

"_Eric,_" his mom chastised and he apologized, instantly. Apparently satisfied, Adyson Northman returned to her conversation with her brother's wife.

"If I'm pretending I'm younger than I am, you go along with it, asshole," Naomi whispered the last word for fear of being chastised.

"Oh, is that what we're doing?" he asked, with plenty of humour. "Who're you trying to fool, Nai? Everyone here knows how old you are."

"Well, they don't need to be reminded," she huffed.

"Aww, I'm sorry. You don't look a day over twenty."

"Thank you." Naomi grinned. "So who's the girl your mom was telling my mom about in the kitchen?"

"Oh god," Eric groaned. "Is she telling everybody?"

"It's your own fault for not giving her more to get excited over. I tell my mom I'm seeing someone everytime she asks me, even if I'm not. That way, if there's ever anybody I'm actually serious about, she doesn't get all meddle-y over it."

"Your mom does not meddle, Nai," Eric rolled his eyes before glancing over at Lucy. She was probably the sweetest woman he'd ever met.

"Not in the way yours does. Mine is subtle, like… a shark. By the time you see her flipper sticking out of the water, you're already missing a leg."

"Good metaphor." Eric had to hand it to her; at least she was eloquent.

"Thank you. Now tell me." So he did, feeling a bit more at ease about discussing his relationship now that he'd had a couple glasses of wine and some spiked eggnog. He may have overshared, however, because he even spilled the beans about Pam's unexpected 'I love you'.

"Why didn't you say it back?" Naomi frowned.

"Because I wasn't sure if I did. I mean, I'm still not sure."

"Wow, you're kidding me right now, right?"

"What, no, why would I be?"

"You've been grinning like an idiot the entire time you've been talking about her, and you don't think you're in love with her? Seriously, Eric?"

Eric had to physically check and found that she was right, he'd been smiling. Is that all it took, he wondered? Thinking about Pam made him happy; the mere thought of going back to Toronto to see her made him light up, is that what it meant?

Much later, once everyone was gone and Eric was lying in bed in the guest room, he decided to call Pam. She picked up, after the second ring, sounding like she'd been fast asleep.

"Hullo?"

"Hey." Eric winced, regretting his decision. He hadn't meant to wake her up.

"Eric?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't think that you'd be asleep." Even though it was after midnight. Why wouldn't she be, seriously.

"No, it's okay. I just got a little tipsy and crashed at my parents."

"I just wanted to say merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas yourself." Eric could hear the smile in her voice, and it brought one to his own face. "I miss you. Does that sound clingy? I blame the wine."

"No, it's okay," he chuckled. "I miss you too. I wish you were here."

"In your bed?" Her voice took a different tone.

"Yes. Well, in my parents' guest bed I guess, technically."

She laughed. "Mood ruiner."

"Sorry."

"When are you flying back, maybe you can apologize to me then?"

Eric grinned, into the darkness. "The 26th. It'll probably be too late though, with the time change. Can I see you on the 27th?"

"I'll have my assistant pencil you in," she quipped and then yawned.

"I'll let you get back to sleep then."

"Okay. Wish your parents merry Christmas for me, hmm?"

"Right back at you."

"Will do. Good night, baby."

"Good night, Pammy." Eric disconnected the call and stared for a moment at his phone, noting with a start that he was still smiling. _Well_, he thought, _that answers that question._


	6. Chapter 6

__Right, I kind of forgot about FF for a while there. Anyways, here is chapter six of that story which, if you head on over to my Wordpress site, is beyond completed. Like, SO completed. (The address is on my profile). Let me know what you think of this if you're new here! =D

* * *

><p><em>Chapter Six<em>

"I love you," Eric whispered, trapping Pam's hands where they were attempting to undo his jeans' buttons. She looked up, her blue eyes wide, in the split second before her face broke into a grin.

"I love you too. I have to say, I'm glad you said it. I was feeling a little vulnerable since the last time when you pretended you didn't hear me."

Eric's jaw dropped. "I didn't think you remembered saying it."

"I was half-asleep, not drunk. But it's okay, it slipped out, and I figured that's what you figured too, so I let it go."

"Well, now I just feel like a jerk for sitting on that for a month and a half."

"It's okay," she whispered, stretching up to kiss him. "New year, new love and all."

"Did I say Happy New Year, already?"

"No, but I don't think you need your words to say that." She bit her lip flirtatiously, and Eric took that as a sign that he should resume what they'd been doing.

The next morning, as they had breakfast, Eric broached a topic he'd been thinking about for a while. "I have to go to Vancouver at the end of the month, to meet a client."

Pam looked up from her crossword with a pen between her teeth and shrugged. "Okay. For how long?"

"A week or so."

This time she nodded, a little smile creeping onto her features as she added, "Alright. I'll miss you."

Eric chuckled. "I'll miss you too." The smile on Pam's lips widened and she returned to her crossword, thanking Eric when he topped up her morning coffee for her.

888

Eric always forgot how much he loved Vancouver until he was there, but he really did. Vancouver was the Lost Angeles to Toronto's New York, and Eric considered himself more of a California man. Plus, Vancouver always felt so much cleaner than Toronto. Eric headed straight to the hotel from Vancouver International Airport and crawled into bed in anticipation of the early morning meeting he had at the Vancouver office of DeCastro Designs. At the age of twenty-eight, Eric was the younger Senior Architect in the history of the company, and he'd gotten to the point in his career where he was actually asked to fly around the country to meet potential clients who wanted him, exclusively, to work on their designs. Vancouver in particular was the city Eric flew to most often, which suited him just fine, not that it wasn't fun flying to Montreal or Calgary every once in a while.

Monday morning, Eric woke up at six and went to the gym for an hour before cleaning up and heading in to work, to meet with Michael Cohen, who was kind of a conceited asshole and wanted a high-rise designed. Afterwards, Eric checked in with a couple of his past projects before heading over to Sookie's place for coffee. Something was different, he sensed as soon as she opened the door and reached up to pull him into a hug, but kept his mouth shut as she lead him into the kitchen.

"Where's Chase?"

"At daycare, for now. He's starting school in September, I can't even wrap my head around it."

"I've been told they grow up fast," Eric chuckled and accepted when she offered him coffee.

"You have no idea. So what's going on with you?"

"Ah, not too much. Had an early meeting today so I'm already looking forward to going to bed."

"How's Pam?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"She's good, she's doing some adult weekend dance bootcamps, so she's pretty excited about that."

"She's a personal trainer?"

Eric shook his head, "Dance instructor. Ballet, hip-hop, and that other thing where they have clackety shoes."

"Tap?" Sookie supplied with no small amount of amusement.

"Yeah."

"That's killer cardio. I did a couple of drop-in classes when I was a teenager, and my legs hurt for a month."

"Yeah, Pam's legs are insane," Eric nodded absentmindedly before meeting Sookie's eyes. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," she shrugged. "Pregnancy is not really conducive to having killer anything."

"Hey, if it's any consolation, I don't think you're any less hot naked now than you were seven years ago," Eric grinned, and watched in satisfaction as Sookie blushed.

"Inappropriate, but thank you. I'm, um, I'm sure you're still hot naked, too."

"I am." Eric deadpanned and burst out laughing when Sookie threw a dishrag at him. He was just about to retaliate with the nearest available item when the phone rang. Checking the caller ID, Sookie's smile waned and she excused herself before answering the call. Eric sipped his coffee and casually eavesdropped on what appeared to be an attempt at subduing a rather heated argument with, he suspected, Alcide. His suspicions were more or less confirmed when Sookie returned, looking weary and disappointed, and Eric set down his cup to give her a curious look.

"Everything okay?"

"Not really. Alcide's working late. Again." She sighed and shook it off. "We were going to take Chase out to see that second _Prince of Persia _movie in 3D. It always takes two of us to handle him because he doesn't have the patience to wait in line for concession, but he wants popcorn, and he just gets really excited so we don't take him often. But I already got the tickets and everything, and there's no cancelling on him, so I guess it's just going to be me taking him."

"Hey, why don't I come with you guys?"

She blinked. "You'd do that?"

"Sure, I'll even comp you for the ticket and promise to not feel you up in the dark," he grinned at her. The corner of her mouth quirked upwards. "Besides, who wouldn't want to see Jake Gyllenhaal's abs. I mean, have you seen that guy?"

This time she actually giggled. "If I recall correctly, you were pretty similar to him a few years ago."

"Yeah, I've totally let myself go. I have a beer gut now," Eric sighed.

"I can clearly see that," Sookie rolled her eyes. "So, hey, I was going to make lunch. Have you had anything?"

"Uh, no I haven't."

"Would you like to stay? I need to go grocery shopping afterwards though, so you can run away then, and then you can meet us after dinner for the movie?"

"Well, I have nothing to do in this city, so what if I tag along and then take you guys out for dinner before the movie?"

"You're welcome to tag along, but you don't have to take us out for dinner."

"Yes, come on. I need to make up for not being Alcide-"

"I don't think you're the one who needs to make up for that," Sookie rolled her eyes.

"-and it's my turn to provide dinner, since I came over here last time."

"Eric, you don't need to do that."

"I want to. Come on. If you kick me out after lunch, I'm going to spend the rest of the day doing nothing in my hotel room." That was a bit of a lie, Eric could do plenty of things in Vancouver, but he'd rather spend time with Sookie, and Chase too. "Now, can I help with lunch?" Eric offered.

"Well, alright then," Sookie conceded, graciously. "Will you chop veggies?"

"Sure." Eric rolled up his sleeves and caught Sookie's eyes lingering on his muscular forearms. "Tell me what to do," he said with a little playful smirk, no doubt remembering all the other times he'd asked her that, and Sookie blushed a little bit.

"Inappropriate," she mumbled and pulled a cutting board and a knife out of the drawers. "There's green peppers in the fridge."

"Yes ma'am." Eric got to work, washing the peppers before chopping them up. "So, tell me about your life." He glanced over at where she was cutting the chicken into pieces.

Sookie laughed. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, start from the beginning."

"Ah, well, I was born on a chilly evening in the October of-"

"That's not what I meant, you smartass," he laughed then sobered, stopping what he was doing to look over at her with an unwavering gaze. "I really missed you, Sookie. I still don't know…"

"Don't know what?" she asked softly.

"I don't know if leaving was the right choice."

Sookie sighed. "Don't say that. You don't mean that."

"Of course I do. I always thought I would be the one that got to… build a life with you. I always figured it would be me."

"I thought it would be you too," she admitted. "For a long time, I thought it would be, but things happen, Eric. I didn't expect that this was going to become my life, but it is. This is it."

The words hit Eric like a ton of bricks. This was it? He took a moment and realized he wasn't okay with that; they were supposed to be together. They were always supposed to be together, she was supposed to be his. This couldn't be it. This wasn't right. Something inside of Eric tightened painfully and he took a deep breath that he was surprised to find was shaky.

"Eric," she called softly, and then once more when he didn't respond. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He offered her a smile that she didn't seem to find very convincing.

"How's Toronto?"

"The same as always," he shrugged it off and went back to chopping vegetables with that terrible pain in his chest. What the fuck was wrong with him? He hadn't seen her in six years before September, he loved Pam, and all of a sudden he felt like he was suffocating, just being in Sookie's fucking perfect kitchen and her fucking perfect life. He wanted to leave, to get out, but he had committed to a full day which, in hindsight, was a bit of an over-commitment.

"Eric, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Sook." He looked up to smile but cried out when the knife sliced his hand open. "Shit."

"Oh, here," she directed him towards the sink and held his hand under the water. "You might need stitches."

"No, I don't."

"Eric, look at this. You need stitches!"

"It's _fine_, can I just get a Band-Aid please?"

Sighing, Sookie dried the cut and put anti-bacterial gel on it with the practiced ease of a mother before covering it. Once she was done, Eric held up his bandaged index finger and quirked it at her with a little smile on his face.

"Loser," Sookie chuckled and washed her own hands before returning to the chicken.

"Thank you for taking care of me."

"You're welcome. At least you didn't get any blood on the food."

"That was my first priority," he rolled his eyes before pouting. "It hurts."

"Aww, do you want me to kiss it better?" When he nodded, she took his hand and pressed a little kiss onto his finger. That, of course, meant her lips were shockingly close to his and Eric found his gaze drawn to hers. "Better?"

"Yeah," he breathed and moved closer, in the instant before they both pulled back. What was he doing? He loved Pam, not Sookie.

"You look good, Eric," Sookie said out of the blue.

"And you still look amazing."

"Thanks." They stared at each other for another minute, both unsure as to how to proceed, before Eric broke the silence.

"Come on, I'm starving, let's get this show on the road."

888

Dinner with two-thirds of the Herveaux family was odd; good, but odd, to share a meal with what felt like the template of his ideal future family, where the only missing piece was him. He kept having to remind himself that the ring on Sookie's finger was not his, that Chase was not his, that this life was decidedly _not_ his. And it was odd, that he was suddenly so nostalgic for a life he didn't even think he wanted, not as he was, happily taken.

After dinner they piled into Sookie's SUV and drove to the movie theatre, where Eric got to witness the true depths of Chase's hyperactivity as he bounced and tried to escape, his attention drawn away by a million things at once as he took in the flashing lights of the arcade and the Coming Soon posters and the concession counter. In the end, Sookie stood in the lineup for popcorn while Eric all but chased the kid around and even found himself having fun while doing it. The movie was, as predicted, a historically-inaccurate mess of some hot chick and Jake Gyllenhaal's abs and angsty eyes, so they all enjoyed it for various reasons.

"Totally worth it," Eric whispered to Sookie in the car, as Chase dozed off in the back.

"Tooootally worth it," she laughed, the sound just contrived enough to draw Eric's attention.

"Does this happen often?" He asked, his voice quite now for a different reason.

"What, Alcide? No." She shook her head and made a turn, very carefully using the road as an excuse to completely avoid Eric's gaze.

"Really?" he asked and that was definitely too far because Sookie's face rearranged itself, her eyes cooling several degrees.

"Eric, marriages are hard. Balancing work and a family is hard. I don't expect you to understand that."

"You're right, I didn't mean to step on any toes." Eric backtracked.

"Alcide and I, we have our problems, but we love each other. We're happy together."

"I'm sure you are. I'm sorry, Sookie, I didn't mean to stick my nose where it doesn't belong."

"Good, 'cause it doesn't belong. I haven't seen you in ages, Eric. Sending the occasional email doesn't mean you have any idea what my life is like."

"You're right, I don't. I'm really sorry, okay? I didn't mean to upset you so much." Though, he had to wonder why Sookie was being so defensive about it. He was inclined to wonder if it was because she was in denial about some very real problems they were having, but he also realized that Sookie was right and he had no right to bring that up. What did he know anyways? The Sookie he'd been in love with was long gone.

Except that she wasn't, and he knew that. She was still in there; she'd been there earlier, in the kitchen, before Alcide's call, and afterwards too, when she'd forget about it for a few minutes at a time. Eric had to wonder what kind of a guy Alcide was to not see the effect his words and actions had on his wife.

888

Eric spent the next two days completely swamped by work. It was exhausting, but always somehow exhilarating to sink his teeth into a new project, and this time was no different. On Wednesday he gave himself a break though, and pulled out his tattered copy of _The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_ and started it from the very beginning. He was so engrossed in the plot that at the sound of the knock on the hotel room door, he jolted and almost fell over. Glancing at the time just to confirm to himself that it really was absurdly late, Eric padded over to peek through the peephole.

"What…" he murmured and opened the door. It took a second, for the realization to sink in that Sookie had jumped into his arms as soon as he had opened the door and that now her lips were pressed against his, her fingers eagerly threading through his hair.

"Sookie, what are you doing?" _What are you doing in my hotel room, kissing me when you're married? _is what he wanted to really ask, except that would imply he minded having her wrapped around his body. She felt good in his arms, in a disconcertingly grounding sort of way that made him question a lot of things, including just how thoroughly he'd thought he had moved on, because a simple kiss should not feel that great. Sookie pulled back, her eyes wide and vulnerable as her actions sunk in.  
>"Alcide cheated on me," she blurted out, tears welling up in her baby blues.<p>

"What?" Eric blinked, like an idiot. Although, considering what she'd just told him, maybe he wasn't the biggest idiot in her life.

"He's been fucking his ex on the side, for months now. I confronted him and he spilled the beans, and I just left. I just had to leave," she sobbed the last part and fell into his arms. Eric wrapped his arms around her small frame and leaned down to press a kiss into his hair, which he realized was a mistake when Sookie tilted her head up to kiss him again.

"Sookie, no. I'm sorry you've been hurt and you know I'm here for you, for whatever you need, but this isn't right. Okay?"

Her chin quivered and she broke away to bury her face in her hands. "Oh god, I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be embarrassed," Eric hooked an arm around her waist to keep her from walking away. "Just, come, sit down." He led her over to the bed since it was the only place to sit other than the single armchair in the corner and held her as she wept. "He's a fucking idiot. He's the biggest fucking idiot in the world for not realizing how perfect you are," he murmured at last and she snorted, wiping some snot on her sleeve.

"Ha. That's the biggest joke, especially right now."

"It's the truth. You're beautiful and kind and loyal, and an amazing mom."

She sniffled and avoided his gaze as she responded, "Thank you. I'm sorry for coming on to you."

"You don't have to apologize to me for that, maybe I just don't want to be your rebound guy," Eric grinned.

Sookie let out a mirthless laugh. "Don't worry, I _marry_ those." Seeing the question in his eyes, she added, "He was my rebound after you. We slept together, I got knocked up, and we decided to give our relationship an actual try even though I was his rebound girl and he was my rebound guy. In hindsight, six years for a rebound relationship is pretty good."

"Plus you got Chase out of it," Eric smiled, letting that little bit of background information slide. He would have been hurt, six years ago, to find out that she'd moved on so quickly with her life. Now though, that just seemed irrelevant.

"He's pretty much the bright light at the end of this dark tunnel of infidelity and deceit," Sookie smiled a heartbroken smile.

"It'll be okay, you know. One way or the other, it'll be okay," he said and he could see that the only reason she hadn't just slapped him across the face for uttering that huge cliché was because she realized he truly believed it.

Except she was still crying. "I'm so tired of having my heart broken, Eric," she whispered and it felt like a literal blow because he knew he'd been the first one to break her heart.

"Sookie, you know how much I loved you, right?"

"I know," she nodded.

"I wish-"

"I know. God, Eric, I don't blame you for pursuing your life."

"Thank you for letting me," he murmured, slipping an arm around her and meaning his words, except a day hadn't gone by that he hadn't thought about her and how she was doing. "And, I can't believe I'm actually verbalizing this, but baby, this isn't the end. You're twenty-five, for crying out loud."

"With a son," she interrupted.

"An amazing, beautiful son."

"A fact that nobody will bother discovering because dating someone with a child is probably just a bit too much baggage."

"Christ, Sookie, you're not going to end up alone. Anybody would be beyond fucking lucky to have you," he said, realizing a moment too late just how much that sounded like a declaration.

"It's just not looking likely right now. I'll get some perspective once it's not so fresh, I think." She sighed. "I hope. God, I can't believe he was fucking me and her," Sookie added with a little sob. "Fuck. I just can't believe it."

Eric had no clue how to comfort someone who'd been cheated on, so he held her until she was satisfied.

888

Eric was back in Toronto a week later, back to his real life, even though it felt like everything had shifted ever so slightly with the events of the past week. Sookie had gone in to her lawyer's office a couple of days after finding out about Alcide's infidelity, asking Eric to babysit in favour of asking her family and friends whose reactions would no doubt be too much to bear. Chase had been mind-blowingly adorable, dragging Eric outside for a walk and offering to treat _Eric_ to some ice cream after dinner. Every now and then, in the way he nibbled on crackers and the set of his jaw as he watched TV, Eric could clearly see Sookie in Chase. It still didn't compute that a man – any man – could possibly look at Sookie and pick somebody else over her. Not that it had ever made sense that anyone could pick somebody else over their wife in the first place.

Or their girlfriend, Eric reminded himself. He hadn't told Pam about the kiss, hadn't deemed it significant enough to mention, when all it would do was upset Pam. They'd talked on the phone though, and it had been awful. Everything had felt awkward, off, somehow, and Eric couldn't help the voice in the back of his head that was accusing him of being a terrible boyfriend. But after years of the voice telling him he'd made a mistake in walking away from Sookie, Eric had grown quite skilled at ignoring his conscience, or whatever the fuck it was, accusing him of being a bad person. Because it was wrong. Sookie was just a friend, albeit a friend he'd once been in love with, hence all the strange things he was feeling. They were all remnants from years ago, and the only reason they were bubbling up now was because he hadn't seen her in years and he was caught off guard, when he ran into her.

Besides, he loved Pam. Truly, truly loved Pam. She was beautiful and smart and stubborn, and she got him. She got when he didn't want to talk, when he just needed a distraction. She understood all his neuroses, and she loved him.

Sookie had her own life, across the country.


	7. Chapter 7

__Hey guys! As always, if you head on over to my Wordpress, you'll find the rest of this story =] Drop me a line, either here or there, if you like this!

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><p><em>Chapter Seven<em>

"How are you doing?" Eric asked as they spoke on the phone one night and Sookie laughed.

"Great, how are you?"

"You know what I meant," he rolled his eyes but smiled into his wine.

"Yeah." There was a pause. "Yeah. I don't know."

"You don't know?" That sounded highly improbable; Sookie always analyzed the shit out of everything.

"I'm good."

"I don't believe you." She probably wasn't even expressing any vulnerability at all, trapped as she was in the role of strong parent. Eric was tempted to fly back out, just to see her again.

"I miss him," Sookie whispered after a long pause. "I miss what he was to me, and what… his presence meant. And Valentine's Day was tough too. But I hate that he's tainted all these memories because now I know he was fucking Debbie on the side. I went and got tested. Shit, was that inappropriate? I'm just having some wine."

"It's fine." Eric smiled, "Is everything all clear?"

"Yeah. I would have murdered him if he hadn't been careful. I would literally have killed him."

"I would have killed him for you."

"I appreciate the sentiment," Sookie giggled.

"But, how are you dealing with things?"

"I'm trying to be okay. Well, I'm trying to not fall apart because this has to happen. I can't be with anybody who has so little respect for me. But I'm… fuckit. I'm lonely and hurt and doing my very fucking best to be a decent single parent, but it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done." She chuckled, "Next to letting you leave."

"You know I'd be there in a heartbeat if you asked."

"I know you would, I just don't know why. I don't know what this is, Eric."

"This is us being friends. I care about you and Chase, I just want to be a good friend to you now that you need it."

"How does Pam feel about it?"

"Why should she feel anything about it? We're friends."

There was a pause. "Eric, you've told her about me, right?"

"Well-"

"ERIC MIKAEL NORTHMAN!" Sookie exploded. "Why the _fuck_ would you do that?"

"I don't know! I'm just- We barely emailed before, and it never came up, and then in Vancouver things were so busy that I just forgot!"

"You just forgot to mention that you were hanging out with your ex and her son? And all the times we've talked on the phone, what, they've slipped your mind?"

"Sookie, I don't know, it wasn't a huge deal," he defended, his words tumbling out before he could snatch them back.

"Wow. Alright."

"No-no, that's not, I didn't mean that, Sookie."

"It's fine, Eric, you don't need to explain yourself to me."

"Don't do that, okay. I didn't mean that my friendship with you isn't a big deal. I'm just protective of it, and of you, and you and I have a history and I don't know why but I feel the need to keep it separate from Pam."

"But Eric, she deserves to know. You keeping things separate is tantamount to lying to her, which is really stupid considering there's no reason why you should lie to her."

"I know, there isn't," Eric sighed. "Fuck. She's still going to be mad I didn't tell her about us seeing each other when I was in Vancouver."

"I know. But it's better you tell her now without anything prompting you, than for her to find out herself and think the worst."

"I know," he repeated. "I'll tell her."

"You promise? There's only so much drama I can handle, Eric."

"I pinky promise," Eric laughed.

"He's crazy about you, you know." She said, out of the blue. "Chase, I mean. He misses his Daddy but he asks about you all the time. He wants to know if you guys can watch movies together again sometime."

"I miss him too," Eric caught himself beaming.

"And, um, thank you, for being a friend. Tara's so busy being mad for me that she forgets I just need someone to talk to. Not that it's her fault, she's been really great with babysitting and bringing wine over, but…"

"You just need something different, I get it. It's alright."

Sookie sighed, in relief. "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome. But I have to go now. I'm picking Pam up and taking her for dinner."

"Alright, enjoy your night."

"Will do. Bye, lov- Uhm, Bye." Eric hung up, staring wide-eyed at his iPhone for a few seconds. He'd almost told Sookie he loved her, which was inappropriate, though not necessarily untrue. He'd loved her once, and he thought maybe he still did, but wasn't _in_ love with her like he was with Pam. Right?

Fuck. Shaking his head, Eric tossed his phone onto the couch and went off to get ready for dinner.

A few hours later, Pam sighed and put her hand on his at the dinner table. "What's wrong with you tonight? You've been somewhere else."

"Shit, sorry." Eric shook his head. "I have something to tell you, and it's not significant in any way," he hurried to add. "but for some reason I just didn't tell you. And I should have. But I need you to not think the worst, okay? Because it's nothing."

"Okay?" Pam looked at him with open apprehension.

"Before we met, I was in Vancouver for a few days, for work, and I ran into my ex. We dated when I was in my last year of university and I hadn't seen her since then, and anyways, we kept in touch, after I was back. We'd just email back and forth occasionally, and I never told you because it wasn't often enough for me to remember and it never came up."

"Alright," she nodded. "So, why now?"

"Well, I saw her again, when I went to Vancouver, and I know you and I talked when I was there, and I didn't tell you, and I honestly don't know why I didn't. It wasn't a conscious decision, and there was no reason for me not to."

"Did you sleep with her? Before?"

"What?" Eric blinked, and realized he'd left out a rather crucial detail. "Oh, no, she's married. Has a kid and everything. I had dinner with all of them in September, but uhm, when I went back last month things sort of, fell apart, for her. She caught her husband cheating and I ended up babysitting for her when she went to see her lawyer and now they're in the middle of a divorce." Pam was clearly a little past the point of being completely understanding, as her lips were pressed into a thin line.

"And you've continued to keep in touch."

"Yeah. But Pam, honestly, it's nothing. She's just my friend, and she's going through a rough time, and I just think I'm someone from her past that she's comfortable with."

"She doesn't have friends?"

"Well, yeah," Eric sighed. She was mad. "But I'm not about to tell her she can't rely on me when all we do is talk occasionally."

"And meet up, when you're in town," Pam added, a bit coldly. "So you email, and, what, talk on the phone?"

Eric nodded. "Pammy-"

"Can we leave? I don't think I'm in the mood for dinner anymore."

Eric hesitated before relenting. He flagged down the waiter and paid for the wine and appetizer they'd managed to order before following Pam out the door and to the parking lot. In the car he paused again and looked over to where Pam was staring expressionlessly through the windshield.

"I don't care that you didn't tell me that you guys talked. I understand that it was infrequent and not significant enough for you to make a note of telling me. I'm mad that you saw her in January, babysat her kid for her apparently, and held her hand when her marriage fell apart, and still somehow failed to mention it to me. It's kind of a huge thing to keep from me, regardless of whether or not you made a conscious decision to do it."

"I know," he said, quietly.

"And it makes me doubt you. I don't like that it makes me doubt you, and I'm pretty annoyed that you gave me a reason to, when rationally I know better and know that if you were sleeping with her, you'd just keep it from me entirely. "

"But I'm not, Pam, we're just-"

"Friends, yeah, I know." Pam took a deep breath and continued, "I can get over it, because you told me yourself and that works in your favour, and I'm inclined to believe you because I trust you and I don't think you'd hurt me. But regardless of all that, tonight I'd like to be alone."

"I understand," Eric nodded and tried to come to terms with the awful tightness in his chest. He drove her home in complete silence, feeling worse and worse with every second that passed, until he pulled up in front of her apartment feeling like he was about to explode. "I'm sorry," he murmured, and met her gaze. "For not telling you, and for ruining your night."

"You didn't ruin anything," she gave him a small smile. "We're okay. I just need some time to be mad at you and then get over it."

"I get that."

"I'll call you later."

"Yeah, okay. Pam," he called when she made to get out.

"Yeah?"

"You looked beautiful tonight."

She smiled and said, "Good night, Eric."

Eric watched her walk to the glass lobby doors, without a hint of self-consciousness, and then drove himself home. A couple of hours later, as he lay in bed, he received a message from Pam telling him that she loved him. He smiled, as he responded that he loved her too.

888

It only took Pam about fourteen hours to decide she was done being upset with Eric. She sent him a text just before noon and he came over with Vietnamese food, a cautious look on his face.

"Are we, uhm, okay?" He hesitated before asking and Pam stretched up on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"Don't do it again, alright?"

"I won't," he shook his head, blue eyes wide. "I have nothing to hide from you."

"Well, good," Pam grinned and indicated that she wanted a kiss. They ate and fucked and fucked again. Afterwards, lounging around in their underwear, Pam curled into Eric's body and said, "Tell me about her."

"About who?"

She chuckled, knowing that his mind remained blank for as long as it was allowed, post-orgasm. "Sookie," she clarified and almost regretted it when she felt his body tense.

"What do you want to know?"

"How did you guys meet?" She was honestly curious, even though she wasn't necessarily in the habit of asking her boyfriends about their exes. It seemed to matter this time though, especially since she was evidently a part of their lives. Glancing down at their entwined fingers, Pam thought that she would very much like to be a part of Eric's life, for a long time.

"In a coffee shop."

Oh, he wasn't going to make this easy, was he? "Were you together for a while?"

"I guess so. Almost a year. We moved to Vancouver together when she graduated high school and I got my Bachelor's."

"Wow, seriously?" Pam tried to remember what it would have felt like to be in high school and date someone four years her senior. Her parents would have probably frowned upon that. "How come you guys broke up?"

"I had to move here for work." Eric hesitated before adding, "I considered not taking it, but she pushed me to."

"Why would she do that?" Pam frowned. She would probably dig her heels in and not let him go, if faced with that scenario. If this Sookie person had let Eric go that easily, pushed for it even, then she probably didn't love him as much as he thought. Then again, if Eric had walked away that easily, then he probably didn't care for her all that much either. Pam felt herself relax, slightly.

"She wanted me to be happy, to do well." He shrugged. "It was a long time ago. "

"Yeah," she agreed. It was. And now Eric was hers, she thought happily when he pulled her body closer.

888

**Seven Months Later…**

"What do you think I should get him?" Eric asked, completely oblivious to how irritating he was being. Pam sighed and eyed him, noting his concern and complete dedication to the task.

"I don't know, sweetie. Why don't you just send him a card or something?" You barely know the kid, she wanted to add but held back, knowing that it would probably lead to another argument, and this issue had already ignited enough conflict between the two of them.

"I told you, I just want to. He's an amazing kid," Eric shrugged and crouched down to select a remote-controlled monster truck from the bottom shelf. Flipping the box over, he read the description written in a cheerful font and frowned, comparing the toy to its neighbour on the shelf. Pam resisted the urge to burst into frustrated tears at his words; it wasn't like she didn't know how Eric felt about his ex's son. God knows he talked about him enough. If she didn't know better, Pam would think the kid was Eric's or something judging solely by the never-ending stream of hand-drawn pictures that Eric received from Chase. And of course, every picture went up on Eric's fridge, and then Eric would deem it necessary to Skype Chase to thank him personally, a conversation that managed to go on for hours as Sookie attempted to make Chase say goodbye, to no avail. Pam had tried to ask why the hell Eric was so goddamn attached, and that had led to their first argument. First of many. Arguments over a child whom Eric had seen only a handful of times, but was somehow smitten by already.

And now here they were, trying to find an appropriate gift to FedEx to Vancouver for Chase's sixth birthday.

"I like that one better," Pam offered, tearing her gaze away from the direction of the cashiers. She figured it might make things move faster if she helped the process.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. The sporty car will be harder to deal with 'cause it'll get stuck on rugs and stuff. The monster truck will be more fun, and he can play with it outside too if he wants."

"Ooh, good point. Yeah, I think I'll take this one then," Eric nodded with conviction and straightened up, the miniature blue monster truck in his hand.

"Awesome. Should we go?" _Say yes, say yes, say yes_.

"Yeah. Wait, do you think I should get something for Sookie too?"

"Why, is it her birthday?" Pam just barely managed to hold back the venom in her tone, and thankfully Eric seemed to not notice.

"Good point. I guess I'll worry about that in October."

Pam's jaw dropped and she spoke without thinking. "Are you serious?"

"What?" Eric frowned, not understanding her frustration at all, which of course only served to fan the flames.

"Nothing, nevermind. You know what, I'm going to wait for you in the car."

By the time Eric got in the car with the toy car in hand, Pam had already wiped away her tears and checked her makeup for smudges.

888

Over the course of the past few months Pam had watched as Eric – _her _Eric – drifted further and further away from her, seemingly cluelessly. Pam could feel the strain of it on their relationship; he was there, but his mind wasn't, and she feared his heart wasn't either. It broke her heart to realize that he wasn't meant to be hers, that he clearly never was if some woman living on the other side of the country could so unwittingly claim his heart so thoroughly.

And Pam knew it was unwitting. He didn't hide anything from her, because he thought it was nothing and because he and Sookie never crossed any boundaries together – it would be tough anyways, to have anything when their interactions were limited to emails and occasional phone calls. But Pam knew it was _something_, even if Eric wasn't ready to admit it. It felt like she was just waiting, waiting for the catalyst that would ignite the inevitable.

It came in early October, in the form of a hysterical phone call from Sookie as they curled up on Pam's couch, watching TV. Eric listened, his panic evident as they spoke, and after several words of reassurance, hung up.

"I have to go to Edmonton."

So this was it. Pam felt like there were cinderblocks on her chest. "What, _why_?"

"Sookie needs me. Her Gran had a heart attack and she's flying to Edmonton in a couple of hours to make sure she's okay."

"She has people, Eric." She wasn't even hiding her frustration anymore, and it only fed Eric's. "You don't need to go running across the country just because her Gran is sick."

"You don't get it, Pam." Eric ran a hand through his hair.

"You're right, I don't. You guys are barely friends but she called you up just because she's having a hard time and you don't see anything wrong with that?"

"Fuck, Pam. Could you be any more cold? Sookie's Gran practically raised her when her parents were too busy being assholes. And I knew her, I used to sleep over at her house when Sookie and I were together. So yeah, I'm going to go see her."

"Why?"

"Because Sookie's my friend!" Eric exploded. "Because she asked me. It has nothing to do with our past, I'd do that for anyone. I'd do it for _you_."

Pam barked out a short laugh, disbelief colouring her features. "That's your logic? That if you'd do it for me, you'd do it for Sookie? You're comparing me, your girlfriend, to some woman you've barely seen in the past seven years? That doesn't strike you as odd, incongruent at all?"

Eric sighed, feeling his anger drain away. "Pammy, it doesn't mean anything."

She seemed to deflate as well, as she moved to stand in front of him, her hands rising to cup his face. "Yeah, it does, Eric. I wish you'd stop lying to yourself."

"I'm not _lying_," his frustration spiked but Pam managed to sooth it away with a sad smile and the stroke of her thumbs over his cheeks.

"Denial, then. But Eric, it's time you snap out of it. You love her," Pam choked out, and Eric could swear he felt his heart break.

"Pammy, I love _you_."

"But you love her more. You didn't see her for six years and I still somehow ended up playing second fiddle to her," she sobbed the last part and when Eric tightened his hold around her waist, she hid her face against his neck. "I can't do this. I love you too much to deserve this, too much to make you stay with me when I know you want her more than you want me."

"Stop it. Stop reading so much into this. I'm just trying to be a good friend."

"It's not just this," she shook her head. "It's you hiding the fact that you were in touch, it's you putting up her son's pictures on your fridge, and FedExing her a present for his birthday. It's a dozen small things that wouldn't have mattered on their own, Eric."

"Pam, I never meant to hurt you," Eric said quietly, pulling back to capture her gaze.

"I know," she whispered and sobbed quietly.

Standing there, watching her sob, Eric discovered a type of heartbreak vastly different from the one he'd experienced all those years ago, with Sookie. That one was acute, like his chest was torn apart and he was left to writhe and bleed and eventually maybe heal on his own, but this one was so much worse. This time he was inflicting pain on someone who had given him everything she had, and the heartbreak was knowing that he'd been a big enough asshole to stomp all over that. This time, he was watching someone who loved him and whom he loved back shatter, knowing that it was all his doing, and he couldn't do a thing to take it back. So he buried his face in her hair and whispered that he was sorry, so very sorry, that he didn't mean to hurt her, that she deserved so much more than him. So he was caught completely off guard when Pam shoved him away.

"Jesus Christ, Eric, you're such an asshole," she leveled him with a tear-streaked gaze. "I didn't _want_ anything more than you. I wanted _you_." Shaking her head, she seemed to lose her wind as she added, "And you wanted Sookie. But don't you dare make this about me deserving better. I deserved your honesty."

"You did, but it was never a conscious decision, Pam. I never wanted to-"

"Hurt me? Yeah, you said that. That doesn't make it better, Eric."

"I know it doesn't."

"Well, that's a blessing, I suppose," she snorted and then, quietly, said, "Go."

He gave her a long look, trying to gauge just how firm she was in her resolve. She met his gaze steadily, and Eric nodded. At the door he paused and turned to her. "Bye, Pam."

"Eric," she called as he was about to close the door behind him.

"Yeah?"

"She was important enough to tear us apart. You better fucking fight for her."

He dropped his gaze, scuffed his shoe on the carpet, before nodding. "Take care of yourself."


	8. Chapter 8

__It's been a while since I've posted here, and that's because the story is updated in its entirety over on my wordpress! The address is on my profile. Hope you guys like this if you haven't read it already.

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><p><em>Chapter Eight<em>

As soon as the plane landed in Edmonton, Eric snagged a cab and headed straight to the University of Alberta Hospital, calling Sookie on the way.

"Hello?" She sounded rough, and so strained that Eric felt his heart ache for her. He couldn't imagine receiving a phone call and being told that the woman who'd filled the empty space his parents should have filled was in the hospital, especially not after the year Sookie had had.

"Hey, I just landed. I'm on my way, I should be there in half an hour or so?"

"Fuck, I'm so sorry, I meant to pick you up."

"And I told you, you didn't need to. So this was a nice victory for me," Eric joked and felt himself lighten up when Sookie chuckled.

"I feel awful anyways."

"I told you, it's fine. Now, what do you need me to do when I get there? Do you need me to pick anything up?"

"I'm good. Do you have a place to stay though? Do you want to stay at Gran's?" All the way in Sherwood Park? Eric almost snorted. Not likely.

"Thanks, I got a hotel room on Whyte."

"Oh, Eric, I-"

"Don't, okay?" He cut her off. He didn't need to hear that she felt bad that he was spending all this money just to be with her in Edmonton. "I'll be there in a little bit, and then we'll talk, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good girl. I'll see you in a bit. Say okay."

"Okay."

Twenty minutes later, Eric paid the cabdriver and steeled his resolve before walking into the hospital. He didn't know a single person who liked hospitals, and as much as the whole institution was based around the idea of helping people, Eric hated looking at how torn apart some of the people in hospitals looked. Parents and sons and daughters, families waiting for their loved ones, hoping for the best but sometimes receiving the worst. He _hated_ it. Thankfully he knew where to go and headed straight there, to the seventh floor where he almost walked right into Sookie as he rounded a corner.

"Oh god, I'm so sor-" she apologized before noticing it was him. Her lips curved into a wide grin and she jumped into his arms. "_Eric!_"

"Hi," Eric couldn't help the smile that lit up his own face, and he dropped his bag to catch her.

"I can't believe you're here, I can't believe you came!" She hopped down to take him in. "Eric Northman, you're a sight for sore eyes."

"Well, let me sooth your pains." He winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

"That was such a line," Sookie wrinkled her nose.

"I know, I can't believe I did that. Just, pretend it never happened."

"I can do that. Hug me again."

Eric obliged. She looked as exhausted as she sounded on the phone, and he was suddenly feeling incredible possessive of her. "Where is Gran, how is she?"

"Her room is the other way, actually." She nodded in the opposite direction from the one Eric had been walking. "And she's fine. But the doctor wants her to stay here for a couple more days and she hates it. She just really scared me, and god knows my parents haven't been the least bit supportive."

"Did they visit?"

"Yeah, but they spent the entire time bickering until I just told them to get lost. At least Jason has been helpful, he took Chase home with him for the night."

"Oh, that's surprisingly thoughtful of him."

"That's what I thought!" Sookie smiled before adding, "Thank you for being here. You have no idea how much it means to me that you'd come, even though I'm kind of feeling like I was being overdramatic by asking you here."

"It was no problem," he assured her.

"Don't say that, you flew four hours for someone that you've barely seen in the past year. Pam must hate me," she grimaced.

Eric fought the urge to laugh. She had no idea. "Don't worry about it. I'm here now. Take me to see the old lady."

888

Eric had forgotten just how much he'd loved Adele. She was basically a more seasoned version of Sookie, feisty and determined as she was to live her life to the fullest. Presently, that involved getting out of the hospital.

"Gran, come on, you're being stubborn!" Sookie sighed.

"Calling the kettle black, I see," Gran quirked a brow. "You heard the doctor, I'm doing fine, and I want to go home. There's no reason why I should stay. And there was no need to make such a big fuss and drag poor Eric all the way to Edmonton." The older woman glanced over at Eric, "Not that it isn't lovely to see you, dear, but I expect you have a life, even though you were sweet enough to drop everything and come comfort my granddaughter."

"It was no problem, Adele," Eric smiled his most charming smile, the one that made women of all ages swoon. "So how about you help me out and stay in here while Sookie calms down, hmm?"

"I'm right here," Sookie scoffed and Eric took her hand from where he was standing beside her. Adele's eyes flicked down to their conjoined hands as Eric continued, "Please? Isn't part of loving someone enduring their neuroses?" He winked with that last part and squeezed Sookie's hand as she scowled.

Gran narrowed her eyes, her lips pressed into a thin line, and climbed back into bed. Sookie immediately dropped Eric's hand to rush over and fuss with her grandmother's blanket and pillows, and though Eric kept his eyes on Sookie he didn't miss the knowing look Adele was shooting him.

888

Adele's condition in return for not checking out of the hospital against medical advice was that Eric had to take Sookie out for dinner that night, and at minimum the night after as well. Eric couldn't help feeling like this was some kind of ruse, that Adele was trying to help him _get_ Sookie. The problem was that Adele didn't know about Pam while Sookie was still under the impression that Pam was still in the picture. Eric didn't know how he was supposed to bring that up; "Hey, I know your Gran is in the hospital and your baby has to stay with your brother, but I'm available and apparently I'm in love with you."

Actually, scratch that. He did love her. He always had.

Now he just had to make it right.

"Do you want to go get Chase from Jason's?" He was married now, Sookie had told him. It was kind of crazy to think that Sookie's once-useless older brother was now settled down, with kids of his own, living in the West End of Edmonton. Sookie had put up quite a fight but was now giving in to her exhaustion as she sank into the passenger seat of her rental car.

"No, I want him to have a stress-free night. He's been staying with me in the hospital and it took Jason forever to convince him that he would have fun at their place."

Eric nodded and tried to occupy Sookie's mind. "Who's Jason's wife?"

"Crystal. She's pretty, nice, really quiet. It's actually really sweet though because she'll sit there quietly and only occasionally speak, but Jason will just orbit her, you know? Like she's his whole world and it doesn't make a difference that she's the shiest, sweetest thing and not in-your-face like all his ex-girlfriends. He just loves her so much. I mean, you always hear about the right girl making the player settle down and get serious with his life, but I'd never actually seen it happen."

"So you like her," Eric smiled.

"I love her. I mean, from the handful of times I've seen her. But they already have two kids and he seems really happy."

"Good," he said, really meaning it. "So, where do you wanna go for dinner?"

"It doesn't really matter. Anywhere, really." She sank down further in her seat.

"Soooooookie," Eric sang. "Come on, lady. What do you want?" He ran through options in his head. It had been so long since the last time he'd visited Edmonton. "Sushi?"

"For old times' sake?" She smiled, at last. "Yeah, okay."

"Yay." Eric smiled and turned right onto 87th Ave. In Kyoto, they managed to grab a booth and Eric practically jerked in surprise when she leaned into his body. "Sookie," he murmured instead and pressed a kiss to her hair. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Eric didn't believe her but knew better than to argue, so instead he ordered sake. They ate, Sookie ordering enough to feed a small army and to intoxicate an extended Irish family. Afterwards, he practically carried her back to the car and drove them both to his hotel, checking in before leading her upstairs. She sank into the mattress as soon as he sat her down and helped her crawl under the covers, struggling as she attempted to shed her clothes.

"Okay, okay. Slow down." Eric chuckled and undressed her, finding himself wishing that it were under much different circumstances. She mumbled that she wanted her bra off but kept her shirt on, and Eric fetched her a glass of water and some Aspirin from the gift shop downstairs before joining her under the covers. He was in his underwear, curled up on his side, his eyes roaming over Sookie's body as it rose and fell gently as she softly snored.

Eventually, he fell asleep.

888

"Everything sucks," was what Eric woke to, many hours later. He opened his eyes and checked the clock in his field of vision before rolling over to find Sookie with her pillow on her face.

"Good morning," he whispered.

"I'm not hungover," she muttered, for his information. He remembered that; she never got hangovers. "I'm wearing underwear, right?"

"I didn't take advantage of your smashed self, so yes, you are."

"I didn't mean that."

"I know you didn't." Rising, Eric padded over to the bathroom and returned with his teeth brush. He'd taken a while in the bathroom, willing away his morning wood before he could pee, and Sookie shot him a curious look when he emerged at last. Once she'd taken her turn in the bathroom she crawled back under the covers, this time facing him.

"I'm sorry I got that drunk. I'll pay you back for dinner."

"It was on me," he shook his head.

"Um, I'm pretty sure I spent like, a hundred bucks just on sake, so no, I'm not going to let you foot the bill."

"Well, I already did. Whatcha gonna do about it?"

"What is this, junior high?" She snorted though her eyes gave away her amusement.

"With the amount of alcohol that you drank, I sure hope not," Eric quipped and was immediately rewarded with a pillow to the face. Naturally, he fought back and things quickly escalated to a full-out pillow fight ending with Eric straddling Sookie's waist as he held a pillow to her face, with just enough force to make a point but not cut off her air supply. She called uncle and Eric tossed the pillow aside to grin down at a breathless Sookie staring up at him, her hair all over her face and her face flushed with exertion. Her eyes flicked down his body and when his gaze followed, Eric realized he was hard again and his boxer-briefs were doing very little to hide that. Before he could mutter an apology and move the fuck away, Sookie reached up, pulled him down by the neck, and captured his lips. Groaning more in surprise than anything else, Eric moved onto all fours and returned the kiss with enough passion to light the bed on fire. God, he'd missed this. She still kissed the same fucking way, and it still affected him just as much as it used to. They kissed for what felt like forever until Eric's phone chirped, dumping the figurative bucket of cold water over them both.

"Fuck."

"Oh god, Eric," Sookie hissed, pushing at his chest. "What the fuck was I thinking? What are _you_ doing? You have Pam-"

"Actually, I don't," Eric interrupted before she could work herself up.

"What?" She moved to sit up, tugging the covers around her even though the bed was a mess.

"We broke up."

"Why?"

He shrugged. How the hell was he going to explain this? "It just, wasn't working. And I would have told you sooner but I just didn't know how to bring it up. You already have so much going on…" he drifted off at the look of barely concealed horror on her face.

"Eric, when did you break up?"

"Before I came here."

"_Right_ before?" Her blue eyes were wide. "Oh god, please don't tell me you guys broke up because of me."

"Sookie-"

"I didn't want that. I never wanted that. You guys were so happy, and you loved her so much!"

"Not enough."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying I didn't love her as much as I thought I did." He sighed, and continued at the look of confusion in her eyes, choosing his words carefully. "Pam and I, we broke up because she made me realize that she wasn't the one I wanted."

"Oh." Sookie's face fell. "You've met someone else?"

"You could say I've known her for a while now," Eric struggled to keep the ironic smile off his face, even as he could see that Sookie was not getting it. "You. I want you, Sookie. I never stopped, but then you were with Alcide, and then I was with Pam, and I just never got the chance."

"But you live on the other side of the country."

"I know. But we don't have to figure anything out right now, okay? I didn't mean to add to your list of stressors."

Sookie nodded absently, her gaze trained on a spot behind him before she snapped her attention back. "I want to kiss you again." Eric wasn't one to question something like that, especially considering the quality of the kiss he'd just partaken in, but he had to take a moment to ensure she was really serious. She was, apparently, because she wrapped her arms around his waist and poured a whole lot of passion into the kiss, pressing her body to his just to emphasize the point.

"Oh god, Sookie," Eric whispered and moved to cover her body with his much larger one while Sookie's hands drifted down his back and up again over his smooth skin.

"I want you," she whispered, gripping his shoulders when his attentions moved to her neck. With her legs already wrapped around his hips, Sookie moved her pelvis enough to grind into him and he groaned, raising goosebumps all over her flesh.

"I don't have anything," Eric growled, resting his forehead against hers, and could almost feel the disappointment wash over her. Fuck. He pulled away, disentangling their limbs, and sat back to regard her. He was hard enough to cut diamonds and Sookie was flushed and panting again for entirely different reasons this time, but there was nothing either of them could do about that. With the heat of the moment dissipating, he was forced to admit that it would have been a poor choice to fall into bed so easily, but he so desperately wanted her.

Looking at her, he could see that she felt the same way.

"Doesn't mean we have to stop," Sookie suggested, quirking a brow, and instantly capturing Eric's attention.


	9. Chapter 9

__A/N: Hey there, y'all! It's been a long time since I've bothered updating this story on here, but here it is! Of course, it's long since been finished on my Wordpress (basically search up my name with 'wordpress' and it should come up), so have a look there if you're interested! That's where I'll be if I ever disappear from ._  
><em>

_Chapter Nine_

"I don't have anything," Eric growled.

"Doesn't mean we have to stop," Sookie suggested, quirking a brow, and instantly capturing Eric's attention.

"What, you want to take that chance?'" He snorted.

"No," she sat up and moved to straddle his lap, her mouth gravitating to the soft flesh below his ear. "I'm saying we don't have to have sex to have fun."

"Oh." _Oh. _He could do that. His eyes rolled back into his head once she had her hands on his cock and her lips on the sensitive skin of his neck, and it wasn't long before he was cursing and cumming all over them both. "Fuck."

"We talked about this, we can't," Sookie giggled and hopped off into the bathroom to clean up and bring back a moistened paper towel.

"Funny," Eric muttered once his higher brain power had returned, and rolled her under his body to push her shirt up. Sookie arched her back at the first touch of his mouth on her hardened nipples, and cried when he pushed two fingers into her.

"I forgot how good you were at that," she panted afterwards as Eric returned the earlier favour with the paper towel, and quickly set herself to rights. Eric noticed her blush when she hastily tugged her shirt down and wondered if it had anything to do with the scar that stretched from one hipbone to the other, and the stretch marks that marred her otherwise smooth skin. He'd caught a glimpse during their pillow fight and had given them a more thorough look when she'd been squirming under him, and had determined them to be a result of her pregnancy. At a superficial level, he didn't care; it would be awfully absurd to think her body would have remained flawless after giving birth, but there was still a nagging part of him that disliked the idea of Sookie bearing a child for anyone else, least of all Alcide who broke her heart and was apparently completely undeserving of her love and commitment. For the time being though, he let it go and pulled her warm body into his when they curled up under the covers.

"We should get going," she murmured after a while. Eric hummed and pressed a kiss into her shoulder, tightening his hold around her waist to make sure she was still there.

"Can't."

"What?"

"Adele told me she'll kick my ass if I bring you back to the hospital. The earliest we're allowed is noon."

Sookie huffed and rolled over to glare at him. "You've got to be joking."

"I wouldn't dare. But actually, I wouldn't. Your grandmother is scary when she wants to be. I always thought it was because I was fucking her granddaughter under her roof, but no, apparently it's just an inherent Stackhouse ability to be able to make grown men cry."

Sookie blushed but gave no other indication that his words had affected her. "She's a Hale, not a Stackhouse."

"Fine, inherent Hale ability, then." He shrugged. "Regardless, we have to find other means of occupying our time for the next three hours." He could see she hated this situation and tried to get her mind off of it by asking how she was getting Chase back.

"Crystal's taking the kids to the zoo today so she'd dropping him off afterwards. She said they should be back around one-ish."

"So we have no responsibilities."

"No." She fell silent, a thoughtful look in her eyes as she considered something and came to a sudden resolution. "Hold on." She jumped out of bed and rummaged around for her clothes.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Don't question it." Tugging on her jeans, Sookie fastened her bra and cast an eye around for her shirt, finally locating it behind the bedside table.

"Sookie?" He couldn't help feeling alarmed here. Was she seriously running out on him like this? What the hell had he said to cause this?

"I'll be right back, okay?"

"What do you mean, you'll be right back? Where the hell are you going?"

"You'll see! Just trust me, you'll like it." Grabbing her purse, she returned to the bed for a kiss.

"This isn't your way of freaking out on me because you regret what just happened, is it?" He asked quietly, hoping that his vulnerability was masked.

"Not at all," she whispered, pressing her lips to his once, twice. "I'll be back in half an hour, tops."

"Okay." He grabbed her chin and brought her face back for one last kiss. "Go on. Git."

"Ja wohl, mein Fuhrer," she snarked and was gone. At a loss for things to do, Eric tidied up the small hotel room and showered, and was in the process of ordering room service when there was a knock at the door. He apologized and hung up, figuring he'd call back after he asked Sookie whether she wanted anything, and opened the door.

"You're back."

"I said I would be," she smiled, dropped her purse, and jumped into his arms for a kiss.

"What did you get?"

"You'll see," she murmured, advancing until his knees hit the bed. Sookie quickly slid off the boxers he'd thrown on for the sake of putting something on and tossed them aside before giving enough of a push for him to sink down on the mattress. He was hard, from getting a bit carried away with his imagination in the shower, and Sookie rewarded him with a wink.

"Sookie, wha-" He didn't managed to get through the rest of the sentence because Sookie buried his cock in her mouth and he fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as she gave him the kind of head he hadn't gotten in years. "Fuck, Sookie, I'm close." His body was tensing in anticipation when she pulled away suddenly and walked off. "What, where are you going?" This was just cruel. What the hell was she doing? Without bothering to respond, Sookie crouched down to retrieve something from her purse before moving to stand over him.

"I think you're going to want to undress me, unless you'd rather just lie there." She bit her lip and showed him what she had in her hand, and Eric was quite sure he fell even more in love with her in that moment. She giggled when she was tugged down onto the bed and stretched up to deepen the kiss he was offering, her little present falling on the bed, forgotten for the time being.

"You're incredible," he murmured and divested her of her clothing, item by item, stilling her uncomfortable squirming when he began placing kisses all over her abdomen and particularly along the scar.

"Eric."

"You're beautiful. I don't care about this."

"I do. I hate it."

"Don't. It doesn't matter," he argued, as stubborn as she was in that moment, and moved further down her body to rob her of her words. He worked her up, granting her no reprieve until she was begging, and then stopped to at last make use of the box of condoms she'd purchased.

"Magnums, huh?" Eric teased. He ripped a single square off the strip and opened the foil package.

She chuckled despite having been kept on the edge of orgasm for the past twenty minutes and rolled her eyes. "I also bought a box of extra smalls, just in case I was remembering things incorrectly."

He gasped, his fingers continuing to roll the latex on. "Rude."

"Aw, baby, you know size doesn't matter to me!"

"Does _that_," Eric looked pointedly down the length of his body, "look like an extra small to you?"

"Hmm, I don't know. I can never judge the size of something just by looking at it." She bit her lip and watched him move to lie between her open thighs, his erection brushing against where his mouth had been just a few minutes earlier.

"Then let me help you out, hmm?" With that, he placed himself at her entrance and pushed in just a few inches.

"Go slow," she whimpered, and Eric nodded that he understood before ducking down to mouth at her breasts in the meantime. Sookie breathed several deep breaths until she was more relaxed and arched her pelvis so that more of him slid in.

"Baby, oh god, baby," she moaned and wrapped her legs around his hips. She chanted his name, over and over again, as he began moving slowly, pushing his hips to hers and pulling back with his gaze trained on her face the entire time. She was so fucking beautiful he never wanted to stop, never wanted to cut the connection between their bodies. He wanted to stay here, in this tiny hotel room, in this dirty city, and never emerge.

It didn't take her long to get louder, her nails digging into the muscles of his back as she urged him to move faster, to deepen his strokes and let her hide her face in his neck until she clenched around him. She squeezed until he fell apart too, coming deep inside her with a cry and slumping into her hold.

"Eric," she whispered and captured his lips, letting her fingers soothe away the pain she'd caused earlier. "Eric." He liked that his name was all she could say, because her name was all he could think of, the only thing on his mind. He kissed her, over and over again, before pulling out and discarding the used condom. Back under the covers, Sookie threw a leg over his hips and brought her body flush against his, her hands tracing his muscular torso as they softly kissed.

"Promise me something."

"What?" She smiled into his lips.

"Don't regret this." He brushed her damp hair away from her face. "This is right. I want you, I'll do everything in my power to be with you if you just let me."

"It's not just me I have to think about," she pointed out gently.

"I love Chase. I love him. I love you too. I always will, even if you don't want me. This is it. You're it. For the rest of my life, it's either going to be you or a long line of hookers, and one of those choices is more appealing than the other."

"You want the hookers?" Sookie asked, deadpan, even though her tears were leaving a wet patch on the pillowcase. Eric chuckled and shook his head.

"You don't have to say anything right now. I know that was a lot, so take as much time as you need, I'll be here."

Sookie swallowed and nodded, casting him a cautious look. "You promise?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I promise." How could he not?

888

"What about Pam?"

Eric swallowed a bite of ravioli and glanced around the restaurant. "What about her?"

"You just got out of a relationship. A pretty serious one, based on what I've gathered. It's been, what, two days and you're in love with me?" He had wondered what she'd been thinking about, so this wasn't as much of a surprise to him as it could have been.

"It's not like I was absolutely in love with Pam until we broke up and then instantly switched over to loving you. I haven't really stopped thinking about you since last September, and the more we talked, the more I realized that I still felt something for you. I wasn't sure what it was, because I used to love you and this wasn't love, not really. It's like even though I didn't see you for six years you were still the most important person in my world. Even though we weren't together, even if we never got back together, you still changed my life in a pretty big way and I'm never going to forget that. Being with Pam didn't change that, but then you and Alcide broke up and I started thinking that maybe our lives didn't have to be so distinctly separate, you know? I thought it was set in stone, you in Vancouver with Alcide and me in Toronto with Pam, but apparently it wasn't. I wanted you to become a bigger part of my life, and at first it wasn't in a romantic way but over the summer I realized how much I missed you. And not just you, Chase too. I wanted to see you, and be more than just that guy you occasionally Skyped."

"But you loved Pam."

"But I loved Pam," he nodded. "But like I said, I guess I didn't love her as much as I thought I did. Not in the way she would have wanted me to. I care for her a lot and I wish her all the happiness in the world, and I feel guilty that I caused her pain but I think that we found each other at a very lonely point, in both of our lives, so we were willing to overlook the fundamental flaws in our relationship."

"So you never really loved her."

"Not in the way I needed in order to stay with her and be happy."

"But you love me in the right way?"

"Yes."

"What if I don't want to be with you?" She asked, her gaze trained on her wine as she swirled it, and Eric forced him to answer as calmly as he possibly could.

"Then I'll go back to Toronto."

"Would we still be friends?"

"I don't know if I'm patient enough to pretend I'd be okay with that," he answered softly.

"What if you realized that you don't want to be with me after all?"

"Why would I think that?"

"Because I'm not the same person I was seven years ago. Because my main priority in life is my child's happiness and my own relationships would come in second. And because you could meet someone new and-"

"Stop." She looked up and met his gaze at last, and Eric saw the insecurity in her eyes. "What if _you_ meet someone new?"

"Don't change the subject," she shook her head.

"I'm not. What if we were together and you met someone?"

"That wouldn't happen."

"How do you know?"

She gulped, and seemed to choose her words carefully. "Because you're important to me."

It took a while for her words to register, and when they did, he had to suppress the grin that was threatening to break his face in half. She loved him. Holy shit, she loved him back. "Exactly," he said, completely masking his feelings. "I love you, I'm not going to meet someone else. There's nobody else I'd rather be with." She seemed satisfied with that answer and took another bite of her seafood linguini, and Eric watched her for a moment before following her lead. Once they were done and Sookie had insisted on paying, she drove them both to the hospital and they spent the afternoon with Adele. Chase was dropped off just after two, and Eric left Sookie to be motherly while he hung out with Adele.

"So, I see you're in love with my granddaughter again," Adele noted casually, her reading glasses perched on her nose as she read the newspaper.

"Adele," Eric sighed. He felt no need to argue with that because it was true, and now even Sookie knew it. Drowning himself in angst was not something he was interested in doing, it was all a bit too dramatic, and Eric figured he was way too old for that. He was going to be thirty in four months after all. He had hope for the upfront approach.

"Don't pretend with me."

"Who's pretending?" Eric smiled and moved to perch on the edge of the mattress. "I told her. She knows."

"And?"

Eric shrugged. "She has a lot going on right now. I'm giving her time."

"Oh, Sookie," Adele sighed.

"I don't blame her," he rushed to add. "She's worried about you, the divorce just became final, she's dealing with being a single parent… And I just got out of a relationship. I just wanted her to know. I needed her to know, and she knows. It's her choice. It has to be her choice."

"Don't you dare back down, young man. You hear me?"

"Adele, if she doesn't want me-"

"She wants you. She needs someone who'll take care of her, not like what that son of a bitch did to her. If you don't fight for her and that little boy, I'll personally kick your ass."

Eric smiled, feeling so incredibly fond of the woman in front of him, and bent forward to kiss her cheek. "I'll fight for her, I promise."

Sookie and Chase returned a little while later, the two of them giggling as they walked in. "There you two are," Adele smiled and Chase crawled up on the bed to give her the daisy he'd been clutching in his hand.

"For you, Gran," Sookie's son grinned, dimples and all.

"We may have vandalized some poor soul's garden," Sookie muttered to Eric, earning herself a chuckle, and met his gaze to offer him a smile. There was something playful in her eyes that Eric couldn't discern, but he forgot all about it when Sookie's hand sneaked into his and gave it a little squeeze.

"We have to take things slow," Sookie whispered out of the blue, watching Chase and Adele do the crossword together on the latter's hospital bed. They'd done such a good job of keeping their hands off each other for the most part, but Eric found himself wishing they could have just a few minutes together.

"We've already had sex and I've told you I love you," Eric frowned.

"I mean, from here on out." When she saw that Eric wasn't quite understanding her, she sighed. "I don't know what I'm saying. I guess I'm just afraid that I'm not ready to give you what you want."

He gave that some thought, less than pleased that she felt this way but understanding that it could have been worse. "Well, I still live in Toronto. Doesn't get any slower than that." He thought he saw disappointment in her eyes but she quickly suppressed it.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," she mumbled and looked away. Eric watched her, watched her tense shoulders and the unhappy line of her lips, and wondered what he was missing.


End file.
